Forward-compatible puncturing indications

ABSTRACT

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatuses for wireless communication that can be used for channel puncturing. A wireless station (STA) may receive an indication of a first puncturing pattern to be used for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, where the first puncturing pattern is defined by a first wireless communication protocol release and the STA is configured to operate according to a second wireless communication protocol release. The STA may select, from a set of puncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communication protocol release, a second puncturing pattern that includes one or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one or more corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern. The STA may use the second puncturing pattern to transmit or receive one or more packets over the wireless channel.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application for patent is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/328,464 by SUN et al., entitled“FORWARD-COMPATIBLE PUNCTURING INDICATIONS” filed May 24, 2021, assignedto the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated by reference in itsentirety herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and morespecifically, to wireless communications associated with channelpuncturing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY

A wireless local area network (WLAN) may be formed by one or more accesspoints (APs) that provide a shared wireless communication medium for useby a number of client devices also referred to as stations (STAs). Thebasic building block of a WLAN conforming to the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is a BasicService Set (BSS), which is managed by an AP. Each BSS is identified bya Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) that is advertised by the AP. AnAP periodically broadcasts beacon frames to enable any STAs withinwireless range of the AP to establish or maintain a communication linkwith the WLAN.

Channel puncturing is a wireless communication technique which enables awireless communication device (such as an AP or a STA) to transmit andreceive wireless communications over a portion of a wireless channelexclusive of particular subchannels (referred to as “puncturedsubchannels”). For example, if a wireless communication device detectsthat a 20 MHz subchannel of a 160 MHz wireless channel is occupied, thewireless communication device can use channel puncturing to avoidcommunicating over the occupied subchannel while still utilizing theremaining 140 MHz bandwidth. Accordingly, channel puncturing allows awireless communication device to improve or maximize its throughput byutilizing more of the available spectrum.

New WLAN communication protocols are being developed to enable enhancedcommunication features such as, for example, increases in the bandwidthof communications. New channel puncturing patterns may also be definedto increase the flexibility with which wireless communication devicescan avoid transmitting or receiving data over occupied subchannels of awireless channel while increasing or maximizing throughput over thenon-occupied subchannels of the wireless channel.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods and devices of this disclosure each have severalinnovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for thedesirable attributes disclosed herein.

One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this disclosurecan be implemented as a method of wireless communication. The method maybe performed by a wireless station (STA), and may include receiving anindication of a first puncturing pattern to be used for transmitting orreceiving data over a wireless channel. The first puncturing pattern maybe defined by a first wireless communication protocol release. The STAmay be configured to operate according to a second wirelesscommunication protocol release different than the first wirelesscommunication protocol release. The method may include selecting asecond puncturing pattern from a set of puncturing patterns defined by asecond wireless communication protocol release, the second puncturingpattern including one or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsetsof one or more corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern. The method may include transmitting or receiving oneor more packets over the wireless channel based on the second puncturingpattern. In some instances, the STA may not be configured to operateaccording to the first wireless communication protocol release or maynot be able to decode puncturing patterns defined by the first wirelesscommunication protocol release.

In some implementations, selecting the second puncturing pattern may bebased on a match between the received bitmap and one or more storedbitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturing patterns defined by thesecond wireless communication protocol release. The second puncturingpattern may include a non-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to aprimary channel of an access point (AP). In some instances, the secondpuncturing pattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 320 MHz and zeroor more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth, an 80MHz frequency bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz frequency bandwidth. In otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern may include a frequencybandwidth of 160 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40MHz frequency bandwidth or a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth. In some otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern may include a frequencybandwidth of 80 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 20MHz frequency bandwidth. In some other instances, the second puncturingpattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz without puncturingor a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz without puncturing.

In some implementations, the indication may be a bitmap including aplurality of bits, with each bit of the bitmap indicating whether acorresponding subchannel of the wireless channel is punctured by thefirst puncturing pattern. In some instances, the bitmap may be receivedin an extremely high-throughput (EHT) operation element of a beaconframe, an association response frame, a probe response frame, or anaction frame.

In some implementations, selecting the second puncturing pattern alsoincludes identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set ofpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release that includes non-punctured subchannels that aresubsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern, and selecting the identified puncturing pattern thatincludes the most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturingpattern. In some instances, the method may also include determining, inresponse to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns includingthe most non-punctured subchannels, which of the two or more identifiedpuncturing patterns includes a non-punctured subchannel associated withrelatively high frequencies of the wireless channel or with relativelylow frequencies of the wireless channel. The method may also includeselecting the second puncturing pattern based on the determination. Insome other instances, the method may also include determining, inresponse to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns includingthe most non-punctured subchannels, which of the two or more identifiedpuncturing patterns is associated with a bitmap having the highestbinary index or a bitmap having the lowest binary index. The method mayalso include selecting the second puncturing pattern based on thedetermination.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. Thewireless communication device may include at least one modem, at leastone processor communicatively coupled with the at least one modem, andat least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least oneprocessor. In some implementations, the at least one memory may storeprocessor-readable code that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured toreceive an indication of a first puncturing pattern to be used fortransmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, the firstpuncturing pattern being defined by a first wireless communicationprotocol release. The wireless communication device may be configured tooperate according to a second wireless communication protocol releasedifferent than the first wireless communication protocol release.Execution of the processor-readable code may be configured to select asecond puncturing pattern from a set of puncturing patterns defined by asecond wireless communication protocol release, the second puncturingpattern including one or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsetsof one or more corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern. Execution of the processor-readable code may beconfigured to transmit or receive one or more packets over the wirelesschannel based on the second puncturing pattern. In some instances, thewireless communication device may not be configured to operate accordingto the first wireless communication protocol release or may not be ableto decode puncturing patterns defined by the first wirelesscommunication protocol release.

In some implementations, selecting the second puncturing pattern may bebased on a match between the received bitmap and one or more storedbitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturing patterns defined by thesecond wireless communication protocol release. The second puncturingpattern may include a non-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to aprimary channel of an AP. In some instances, the second puncturingpattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 320 MHz and zero or morepunctured subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth, an 80 MHzfrequency bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz frequency bandwidth. In otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern may include a frequencybandwidth of 160 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40MHz frequency bandwidth or a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth. In some otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern may include a frequencybandwidth of 80 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 20MHz frequency bandwidth. In some other instances, the second puncturingpattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz without puncturingor a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz without puncturing.

In some implementations, the indication may be a bitmap including aplurality of bits, each bit of the bitmap indicating whether acorresponding subchannel of the wireless channel is punctured by thefirst puncturing pattern. In some instances, the bitmap may be receivedin an EHT operation element of a beacon frame, an association responseframe, a probe response frame, or an action frame.

In some implementations, selecting the second puncturing pattern alsoincludes identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set ofpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release that includes non-punctured subchannels that aresubsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern, and selecting the identified puncturing pattern thatincludes the most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturingpattern. In some instances, execution of the processor-readable code maybe further configured to determine, in response to two or more of theidentified puncturing patterns including the most non-puncturedsubchannels, which of the two or more identified puncturing patternsincludes a non-punctured subchannel associated with relatively highfrequencies of the wireless channel or with relatively low frequenciesof the wireless channel. Execution of the processor-readable code mayalso be configured to select the second puncturing pattern based on thedetermination. In some other instances, execution of theprocessor-readable code may be further configured to determine, inresponse to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns includingthe most non-punctured subchannels, which of the two or more identifiedpuncturing patterns is associated with a bitmap having the highestbinary index or a bitmap having the lowest binary index. Execution ofthe processor-readable code may also be configured to select the secondpuncturing pattern based on the determination.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented as a method of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by an AP, and may include selecting a firstpuncturing pattern to be used for transmitting or receiving data over awireless channel, the first puncturing pattern defined by a firstwireless communication protocol release. The method may includedetermining a presence of one or more STAs configured to operateaccording to a second wireless communication protocol release. Themethod may include in response to determining the presence of the one ormore STAs configured to operate according to the second wirelesscommunication protocol release, selecting a second puncturing patternfrom a set of puncturing patterns defined by the second wirelesscommunication protocol release, the second puncturing pattern includingone or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one or morecorresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern.The method may include transmitting or receiving one or more packetsover the wireless channel based on the second puncturing pattern to orfrom at least the STAs configured to operate according to the secondwireless communication protocol release. In some instances, selectingthe second puncturing pattern may be based on a match between a firstbitmap corresponding to the first puncturing pattern and one or moresecond bitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturing patterns definedby the second wireless communication protocol release. In someinstances, the STA may not be configured to operate according to thefirst wireless communication protocol release or may not be able todecode puncturing patterns defined by the first wireless communicationprotocol release.

In some implementations, the method may also include transmitting anindication of the second puncturing pattern to at least the STAsconfigured to operate according to the second wireless communicationprotocol release. In some instances, the indication may be a bit carriedin an EHT operation element of a beacon frame, an association responseframe, a probe response frame, or an action frame.

In some implementations, the second puncturing pattern may include anon-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to a primary channel ofthe AP. In some instances, the second puncturing pattern may include afrequency bandwidth of 320 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannelshaving a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth, an 80 MHz frequency bandwidth, oran 80+40 MHz frequency bandwidth. In other instances, the secondpuncturing pattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 160 MHz and zeroor more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth or a20 MHz frequency bandwidth. In some other instances, the secondpuncturing pattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and zeroor more punctured subchannels having a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth. Insome other instances, the second puncturing pattern may include afrequency bandwidth of 40 MHz without puncturing or a frequencybandwidth of 20 MHz without puncturing.

In some implementations, selecting the second puncturing pattern alsoincludes identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set ofpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release that includes non-punctured subchannels that aresubsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern, and selecting the identified puncturing pattern thatincludes the most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturingpattern. In some instances, the method may also include determining, inresponse to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns includingthe most non-punctured subchannels, which of the two or more identifiedpuncturing patterns includes a non-punctured subchannel associated withrelatively high frequencies of the wireless channel or with relativelylow frequencies of the wireless channel. The method may also includeselecting the second puncturing pattern based on the determination. Insome other instances, the method may also include determining, inresponse to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns includingthe most non-punctured subchannels, which of the two or more identifiedpuncturing patterns is associated with a bitmap having the highestbinary index or a bitmap having the lowest binary index. The method mayalso include selecting the second puncturing pattern based on thedetermination.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented in a wireless communication device. Thewireless communication device may include at least one modem, at leastone processor communicatively coupled with the at least one modem, andat least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least oneprocessor. In some implementations, the at least one memory may storeprocessor-readable code that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured toselect a first puncturing pattern to be used for transmitting orreceiving data over a wireless channel, the first puncturing patterndefined by a first wireless communication protocol release. Execution ofthe processor-readable code may be configured to determine a presence ofone or more STAs configured to operate according to a second wirelesscommunication protocol release. Execution of the processor-readable codemay be configured to in response to determining the presence of the oneor more STAs configured to operate according to the second wirelesscommunication protocol release, select a second puncturing pattern froma set of puncturing patterns defined by the second wirelesscommunication protocol release, the second puncturing pattern includingone or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one or morecorresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern.Execution of the processor-readable code may be configured to transmitor receive one or more packets over the wireless channel based on thesecond puncturing pattern to or from at least the STAs configured tooperate according to the second wireless communication protocol release.In some instances, selecting the second puncturing pattern may be basedon a match between a first bitmap corresponding to the first puncturingpattern and one or more second bitmaps corresponding to the set ofpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release. In some instances, the STA may not be configured tooperate according to the first wireless communication protocol releaseor may not be able to decode puncturing patterns defined by the firstwireless communication protocol release.

In some implementations, execution of the processor-readable code may befurther configured to transmit an indication of the second puncturingpattern to at least the STAs configured to operate according to thesecond wireless communication protocol release. In some instances, theindication may be a bit carried in an EHT operation element of a beaconframe, an association response frame, a probe response frame, or anaction frame.

In some implementations, the second puncturing pattern may include anon-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to a primary channel ofthe wireless communication device. In some instances, the secondpuncturing pattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 320 MHz and zeroor more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth, an 80MHz frequency bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz frequency bandwidth. In otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern may include a frequencybandwidth of 160 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40MHz frequency bandwidth or a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth. In some otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern may include a frequencybandwidth of 80 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 20MHz frequency bandwidth. In some other instances, the second puncturingpattern may include a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz without puncturingor a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz without puncturing.

In some implementations, selecting the second puncturing pattern alsoincludes identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set ofpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release that includes non-punctured subchannels that aresubsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern, and selecting the identified puncturing pattern thatincludes the most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturingpattern. In some instances, execution of the processor-readable code maybe further configured to determine, in response to two or more of theidentified puncturing patterns including the most non-puncturedsubchannels, which of the two or more identified puncturing patternsincludes a non-punctured subchannel associated with relatively highfrequencies of the wireless channel or with relatively low frequenciesof the wireless channel. Execution of the processor-readable code mayalso be configured to select the second puncturing pattern based on thedetermination. In some other instances, execution of theprocessor-readable code may be further configured to determine, inresponse to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns includingthe most non-punctured subchannels, which of the two or more identifiedpuncturing patterns is associated with a bitmap having the highestbinary index or a bitmap having the lowest binary index. Execution ofthe processor-readable code may also be configured to select the secondpuncturing pattern based on the determination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter describedin this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will becomeapparent from the description, the drawings and the claims. Note thatthe relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn toscale.

FIG. 1 shows a pictorial diagram of an example wireless communicationnetwork.

FIG. 2A shows an example protocol data unit (PDU) usable forcommunications between an access point (AP) and one or more stations(STAs).

FIG. 2B shows an example field in the PDU of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A shows an example PDU usable for communications between an AP andeach of a number of STAs.

FIG. 3B shows another example PDU usable for communications between anAP and each of a number of STAs.

FIG. 4 shows an example physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP)protocol data unit (PPDU) usable for communications between an AP andeach of a number of STAs.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice.

FIG. 6A shows a block diagram of an example AP.

FIG. 6B shows a block diagram of an example STA.

FIG. 7 shows example tone plans useable for orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (OFDMA) transmissions over an 80 MHz bandwidth.

FIG. 8A shows example bitmaps indicating puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 20 MHz bandwidth, a 40 MHz bandwidth, andan 80 MHz bandwidth.

FIG. 8B shows example bitmaps indicating puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 160 MHz bandwidth.

FIG. 8C shows example bitmaps indicating puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 320 MHz bandwidth.

FIG. 9 shows an example set of puncturing patterns useable for wirelesscommunications over an 80 MHz frequency bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 10A shows an example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 160 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 10B shows another example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 160 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 11A shows an example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 11B shows an example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to anotherwireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 12A shows an example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 12B shows an example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to anotherwireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 13A shows another example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 13B shows another example set of puncturing patterns useable forwireless communications over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to anotherwireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 13C shows example bitmap configurations indicating the puncturingpatterns of FIGS. 11A, 12A, and 13A according to some implementations.

FIG. 13D shows example bitmaps indicating the puncturing patterns ofFIGS. 11B, 12B, and 13B according to some implementations.

FIG. 14A shows an example sequence diagram for wireless communicationsthat support channel puncturing.

FIG. 14B shows another example sequence diagram for wirelesscommunications that support channel puncturing.

FIG. 15A shows an example beacon frame useable for wirelesscommunications that support channel puncturing.

FIG. 15B shows an extremely high-throughput (EHT) operation elementuseable for wireless communications according to some implementations.

FIG. 15C shows an example bitmap useable for indicating channelpuncturing patterns according to some implementations.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process for wirelesscommunication that supports channel puncturing according to someimplementations.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart illustrating another example process forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome implementations.

FIG. 18 shows a flowchart illustrating another example process forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome implementations.

FIG. 19 shows a flowchart illustrating another example process forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome implementations.

FIG. 20 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process for wirelesscommunication that supports channel puncturing according to some otherimplementations.

FIG. 21 shows a flowchart illustrating another example process forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations.

FIG. 22 shows a flowchart illustrating another example process forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations.

FIG. 23 shows a flowchart illustrating another example process forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations.

FIG. 24 shows a flowchart illustrating another example process forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations.

FIG. 25 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice according to some implementations.

FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice according to some other implementations.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is directed to certain implementations for thepurposes of describing innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, aperson having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that theteachings herein can be applied in a multitude of different ways. Thedescribed implementations can be implemented in any device, system ornetwork that is capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency(RF) signals according to one or more of the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, the IEEE 802.15standards, the Bluetooth® standards as defined by the Bluetooth SpecialInterest Group (SIG), or the Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G or 5G(New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP), among others. The described implementations can beimplemented in any device, system, or network that is capable oftransmitting and receiving RF signals according to one or more of thefollowing technologies or techniques: code division multiple access(CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA(SC-FDMA), single-user (SU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) andmulti-user (MU) MIMO. The described implementations also can beimplemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signalssuitable for use in one or more of a wireless personal area network(WPAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN), or an internet of things (IOT) network.

Various implementations relate generally to channel puncturing inwireless communications. Some implementations more specifically relateto punctured channel indications that support channel puncturing basedon different sets of puncturing patterns defined by different wirelesscommunication protocol releases. Channel puncturing is a wirelesscommunication technique that allows a wireless communication device(such as an AP or a STA) to transmit or receive wireless communicationsover some subchannels (referred to as “non-punctured subchannels”) of awireless channel while avoiding other subchannels (referred to as“punctured subchannels”) of the wireless channel. For example, if awireless communication device determines that a 20 MHz subchannel of a160 MHz wireless channel is occupied, the wireless communication devicecan use channel puncturing to avoid transmitting or receiving data overthe occupied 20 MHz subchannel while still utilizing the othernon-occupied 140 MHz bandwidth of the wireless channel. Accordingly,channel puncturing allows a wireless communication device to improve ormaximize throughput by utilizing more of the available channelbandwidth.

As the bandwidth of a wireless channel increases, the likelihood ofinterference on one or more subchannels of the wireless channel alsoincreases. Thus, as new WLAN communication protocols enable access to agreater range of bandwidths, new or additional channel puncturingpatterns may be needed to efficiently utilize the wider channelbandwidths available. The wider channel bandwidths may also beefficiently utilized by defining new puncturing patterns that havesmaller puncturing granularities than existing puncturing patterns. Forexample, while existing puncturing patterns may indicate whether certain40 MHz or 80 MHz subchannels of a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth are to bepunctured, new puncturing patterns may be defined that also indicatewhether certain 20 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidthare to be punctured.

These new or additional puncturing patterns may increase the both thenumber and size of bitmaps used to indicate which puncturing pattern ofa set of puncturing patterns is to be used for transmitting or receivingdata over a wireless channel. A wireless communication device configuredto operate according to one wireless communication protocol release thatdefines a relatively small set of puncturing patterns may not be able todecode bitmaps associated with another wireless communication protocolrelease that defines a relatively large set of puncturing patterns.Moreover, the wireless communication device may not be aware of the newor additional puncturing patterns defined by the other wirelesscommunication protocol release.

Aspects of the present disclosure recognize that to ensure compatibilitybetween wireless communication devices configured to operate accordingto different wireless communication protocol releases that definedifferent numbers or configurations of puncturing patterns, a wirelesscommunication device operating according to one wireless communicationprotocol release should be able to determine or derive puncturingpatterns defined by another wireless communication protocol release. Insome implementations, a wireless communication device such as a STA mayreceive an indication of a first puncturing pattern to be used fortransmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, where the firstpuncturing pattern is defined by a first wireless communication protocolrelease and the STA is configured to operate according to a secondwireless communication protocol release and may not be able to decodepuncturing patterns defined by the first wireless communication protocolrelease (such as because the STA is not configured to operate accordingto the first wireless communication protocol release). The STA mayselect, from a set of puncturing patterns defined by the second wirelesscommunication protocol release, a second puncturing pattern thatincludes one or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of oneor more corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturingpattern. The STA may use the second puncturing pattern to transmit orreceive one or more packets over the wireless channel.

In some other implementations, a wireless communication device such asan AP may select a first puncturing pattern defined by a first wirelesscommunication protocol release to be used for transmitting or receivingdata over a wireless channel. The AP may determine a presence of one ormore STAs configured to operate according to a second wirelesscommunication protocol release. In response to the presence of the oneor more STAs configured to operate according to the second wirelesscommunication protocol release, the AP may select, from a set ofpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release, a second puncturing pattern that includes one or morenon-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one or more correspondingnon-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern. The AP maytransmit or receive one or more packets over the wireless channel basedon the second puncturing pattern to or from at least the STAs configuredto operate according to the second wireless communication protocolrelease and not the first wireless communication protocol release.

Particular implementations of the subject matter described in thisdisclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the followingpotential advantages. By providing a mechanism through which a wirelesscommunication device configured to operate according to one wirelesscommunication protocol release can determine or derive a puncturingpattern to use for transmitting or receiving data over a wirelesschannel based on an indication of a puncturing pattern defined byanother wireless communication protocol release, aspects of the presentdisclosure may ensure compatibility between wireless communicationdevices configured to operate according to different wirelesscommunication protocol releases that define different numbers orconfigurations of puncturing patterns.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationnetwork 100. According to some aspects, the wireless communicationnetwork 100 can be an example of a wireless local area network (WLAN)such as a Wi-Fi network (and will hereinafter be referred to as WLAN100). For example, the WLAN 100 can be a network implementing at leastone of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocolstandards (such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification oramendments thereof including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad,802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, 802.11be and 802.11bf, inaddition to further amendments). The WLAN 100 may include numerouswireless communication devices such as an access point (AP) 102 andmultiple stations (STAs) 104. While only one AP 102 is shown, the WLANnetwork 100 also can include multiple APs 102.

Each of the STAs 104 also may be referred to as a mobile station (MS), amobile device, a mobile handset, a wireless handset, an access terminal(AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), or a subscriberunit, among other possibilities. The STAs 104 may represent variousdevices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistant (PDAs), otherhandheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers,laptops, display devices (for example, TVs, computer monitors,navigation systems, among others), music or other audio or stereodevices, remote control devices (“remotes”), printers, kitchen or otherhousehold appliances, key fobs (for example, for passive keyless entryand start (PKES) systems), among other possibilities.

A single AP 102 and an associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to asa basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the respective AP 102.FIG. 1 additionally shows an example coverage area 106 of the AP 102,which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. The BSSmay be identified to users by a service set identifier (SSID), as wellas to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which maybe a medium access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102periodically broadcasts beacon frames (“beacons”) including the BSSID toenable any STAs 104 within wireless range of the AP 102 to “associate”or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish a respective communicationlink 108 (hereinafter also referred to as a “Wi-Fi link”), or tomaintain a communication link 108, with the AP 102. For example, thebeacons can include an identification of a primary channel used by therespective AP 102 as well as a timing synchronization function forestablishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. TheAP 102 may provide access to external networks to various STAs 104 inthe WLAN via respective communication links 108.

To establish a communication link 108 with an AP 102, each of the STAs104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations(“scans”) on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (forexample, the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz or 60 GHz bands). To perform passivescanning, a STA 104 listens for beacons, which are transmitted byrespective APs 102 at a periodic time interval referred to as the targetbeacon transmission time (TBTT) (measured in time units (TUs) where oneTU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform active scanning,a STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits probe requests on eachchannel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from APs 102. EachSTA 104 may be configured to identify or select an AP 102 with which toassociate based on the scanning information obtained through the passiveor active scans, and to perform authentication and associationoperations to establish a communication link 108 with the selected AP102. The AP 102 assigns an association identifier (AID) to the STA 104at the culmination of the association operations, which the AP 102 usesto track the STA 104.

As a result of the increasing ubiquity of wireless networks, a STA 104may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within range of theSTA or to select among multiple APs 102 that together form an extendedservice set (ESS) including multiple connected BSSs. An extended networkstation associated with the WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired orwireless distribution system that may allow multiple APs 102 to beconnected in such an ESS. As such, a STA 104 can be covered by more thanone AP 102 and can associate with different APs 102 at different timesfor different transmissions. Additionally, after association with an AP102, a STA 104 also may be configured to periodically scan itssurroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 with which to associate. Forexample, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 mayperform a “roaming” scan to find another AP 102 having more desirablenetwork characteristics such as a greater received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) or a reduced traffic load.

In some cases, STAs 104 may form networks without APs 102 or otherequipment other than the STAs 104 themselves. One example of such anetwork is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). Ad hocnetworks may alternatively be referred to as mesh networks orpeer-to-peer (P2P) networks. In some cases, ad hoc networks may beimplemented within a larger wireless network such as the WLAN 100. Insuch implementations, while the STAs 104 may be capable of communicatingwith each other through the AP 102 using communication links 108, STAs104 also can communicate directly with each other via direct wirelesslinks 110. Additionally, two STAs 104 may communicate via a directcommunication link 110 regardless of whether both STAs 104 areassociated with and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system,one or more of the STAs 104 may assume the role filled by the AP 102 ina BSS. Such a STA 104 may be referred to as a group owner (GO) and maycoordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of directwireless links 110 include Wi-Fi Direct connections, connectionsestablished by using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, andother P2P group connections.

The APs 102 and STAs 104 may function and communicate (via therespective communication links 108) according to the IEEE 802.11 familyof wireless communication protocol standards (such as that defined bythe IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or amendments thereof including, butnot limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az,802.11ba, 802.11be and 802.11bf). These standards define the WLAN radioand baseband protocols for the PHY and medium access control (MAC)layers. The APs 102 and STAs 104 transmit and receive wirelesscommunications (hereinafter also referred to as “Wi-Fi communications”)to and from one another in the form of physical layer convergenceprotocol (PLCP) protocol data units (PPDUs). The APs 102 and STAs 104 inthe WLAN 100 may transmit PPDUs over an unlicensed spectrum, which maybe a portion of spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionallyused by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 900 MHz band. Someimplementations of the APs 102 and STAs 104 described herein also maycommunicate in other frequency bands, such as the 6 GHz band, which maysupport both licensed and unlicensed communications. The APs 102 andSTAs 104 also can be configured to communicate over other frequencybands such as shared licensed frequency bands, where multiple operatorsmay have a license to operate in the same or overlapping frequency bandor bands.

Each of the frequency bands may include multiple channels (which may beused as subchannels of a larger bandwidth channel as described herein).For example, PPDUs conforming to the IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac and 802.11axstandard amendments may be transmitted over the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands,each of which is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. As such, thesePPDUs are transmitted over a physical channel having a minimum bandwidthof 20 MHz, but larger channels can be formed through channel bonding.For example, PPDUs may be transmitted over physical channels havingbandwidths of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 or 320 MHz by bonding togethermultiple 20 MHz channels (which may be referred to as subchannels).

Each PPDU is a composite structure that includes a PHY preamble and apayload in the form of a PLCP service data unit (PSDU). The informationprovided in the preamble may be used by a receiving device to decode thesubsequent data in the PSDU. In instances in which PPDUs are transmittedover a bonded channel, the preamble fields may be duplicated andtransmitted in each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamblemay include both a first portion (or “legacy preamble”) and a secondportion (or “non-legacy preamble”). The first portion may be used forpacket detection, automatic gain control and channel estimation, amongother uses. The first portion also may generally be used to maintaincompatibility with legacy devices as well as non-legacy devices. Theformat of, coding of, and information provided in the second portion ofthe preamble is based on the particular IEEE 802.11 protocol to be usedto transmit the payload.

FIG. 2 shows an example protocol data unit (PDU) 200 usable for wirelesscommunication between an AP and a number of STAs. For example, the PDU200 can be configured as a PPDU. As shown, the PDU 200 includes a PHYpreamble 201 and a PHY payload 204. For example, the preamble 201 mayinclude a first portion 202 that itself includes a legacy short trainingfield (L-STF) 206, which may consist of two BPSK symbols, a legacy longtraining field (L-LTF) 208, which may consist of two BPSK symbols, and alegacy signal field (L-SIG) 210, which may consist of one BPSK symbol.The first portion 202 of the preamble 201 may be configured according tothe IEEE 802.11a wireless communication protocol standard. The preamble201 also may include a second portion 203 including one or morenon-legacy signal fields 212, for example, conforming to an IEEEwireless communication protocol such as the IEEE 802.11ac, 802.11ax,802.11be or later wireless communication protocol standards.

L-STF 206 generally enables a receiving device to perform automatic gaincontrol (AGC) and coarse timing and frequency estimation. L-LTF 208generally enables a receiving device to perform fine timing andfrequency estimation and also to perform an initial estimate of thewireless channel. L-SIG 210 generally enables a receiving device todetermine a duration of the PDU and to use the determined duration toavoid transmitting on top of the PDU. For example, L-STF 206, L-LTF 208and L-SIG 210 may be modulated according to a binary phase shift keying(BPSK) modulation scheme. The payload 204 may be modulated according toa BPSK modulation scheme, a quadrature BPSK (Q-BPSK) modulation scheme,a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation scheme, or anotherappropriate modulation scheme. The payload 204 may include a PSDUincluding a data field (DATA) 214 that, in turn, may carry higher layerdata, for example, in the form of medium access control (MAC) protocoldata units (MPDUs) or an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU).

FIG. 2 also shows an example L-SIG 210 in the PDU 200. L-SIG 210includes a data rate field 222, a reserved bit 224, a length field 226,a parity bit 228, and a tail field 230. The data rate field 222indicates a data rate (note that the data rate indicated in the datarate field 212 may not be the actual data rate of the data carried inthe payload 204). The length field 226 indicates a length of the packetin units of, for example, symbols or bytes. The parity bit 228 may beused to detect bit errors. The tail field 230 includes tail bits thatmay be used by the receiving device to terminate operation of a decoder(for example, a Viterbi decoder). The receiving device may utilize thedata rate and the length indicated in the data rate field 222 and thelength field 226 to determine a duration of the packet in units of, forexample, microseconds (μs) or other time units.

FIG. 3A shows another example PDU 300 usable for wireless communicationbetween an AP and a number of STAs. The PDU 300 includes a PHY preambleincluding a first portion 302 and a second portion 304. The PDU 300 mayfurther include a PHY payload 306 after the preamble, for example, inthe form of a PSDU including a DATA field 322. The first portion 302 ofthe preamble includes L-STF 308, L-LTF 310, and L-SIG 312. The secondportion 304 of the preamble and the DATA field 322 may be formatted as aVery High Throughput (VHT) preamble and frame, respectively, inaccordance with the IEEE 802.11ac amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wirelesscommunication protocol standard. The second portion 304 includes a firstVHT signal field (VHT-SIG-A) 314, a VHT short training field (VHT-STF)316, a number of VHT long training fields (VHT-LTFs) 318, and a secondVHT signal field (VHT-SIG-B) 320 encoded separately from VHT-SIG-A 314.Like L-STF 308, L-LTF 310, and L-SIG 312, the information in VHT-SIG-A314 may be duplicated and transmitted in each of the component 20 MHzsubchannels in instances involving the use of a bonded channel.

VHT-STF 316 may be used to improve automatic gain control estimation ina MIMO transmission. VHT-LTFs 318 may be used for MIMO channelestimation and pilot subcarrier tracking. The preamble may include oneVHT-LTF 318 for each spatial stream the preamble is transmitted on.VHT-SIG-A 314 may indicate to VHT-compatible APs 102 and STAs 104 thatthe PPDU is a VHT PPDU. VHT-SIG-A 314 includes signaling information andother information usable by STAs 104 to decode VHT-SIG-B 320. VHT-SIG-A314 may indicate a bandwidth (BW) of the packet, the presence ofspace-time block coding (STBC), the number N_(STS) of space-time streamsper user, a Group ID indicating the group and user position assigned toa STA, a partial association identifier that may combine the AID and theBSSID, a short guard interval (GI) indication, a single-user/multi-user(SU/MU) coding indicating whether convolutional or LDPC coding is used,a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), an indication of whether abeamforming matrix has been applied to the transmission, a cyclicredundancy check (CRC) and a tail. VHT-SIG-B 320 may be used for MUtransmissions and may contain the actual data rate and MPDU or A-MPDUlength values for each of the multiple STAs 104, as well as signalinginformation usable by the STAs 104 to decode data received in the DATAfield 322, including, for example, an MCS and beamforming information.

FIG. 3B shows another example PDU 350 usable for wireless communicationbetween an AP and a number of STAs. The PDU 350 may be used for MU-OFDMAor MU-MIMO transmissions. The PDU 350 includes a PHY preamble includinga first portion 352 and a second portion 354. The PDU 350 may furtherinclude a PHY payload 356 after the preamble, for example, in the formof a PSDU including a DATA field 374. The first portion 352 includesL-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362. The second portion 354 of thepreamble and the DATA field 374 may be formatted as a High Efficiency(HE) WLAN preamble and frame, respectively, in accordance with the IEEE802.11ax amendment to the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication protocolstandard. The second portion 354 includes a repeated legacy signal field(RL-SIG) 364, a first HE signal field (HE-SIG-A) 366, a second HE signalfield (HE-SIG-B) 368 encoded separately from HE-SIG-A 366, an HE shorttraining field (HE-STF) 370 and a number of HE long training fields(HE-LTFs) 372. Like L-STF 358, L-LTF 360, and L-SIG 362, the informationin RL-SIG 364 and HE-SIG-A 366 may be duplicated and transmitted in eachof the component 20 MHz subchannels in instances involving the use of abonded channel. In contrast, HE-SIG-B 368 may be unique to each 20 MHzsubchannel and may target specific STAs 104.

RL-SIG 364 may indicate to HE-compatible STAs 104 that the PPDU is an HEPPDU. An AP 102 may use HE-SIG-A 366 to identify and inform multipleSTAs 104 that the AP has scheduled UL or DL resources for them. HE-SIG-A366 may be decoded by each HE-compatible STA 104 served by the AP 102.HE-SIG-A 366 includes information usable by each identified STA 104 todecode an associated HE-SIG-B 368. For example, HE-SIG-A 366 mayindicate the frame format, including locations and lengths of HE-SIG-Bs368, available channel bandwidths, and modulation and coding schemes(MCSs), among other possibilities. HE-SIG-A 366 also may include HE WLANsignaling information usable by STAs 104 other than the number ofidentified STAs 104.

HE-SIG-B 368 may carry STA-specific scheduling information such as, forexample, per-user MCS values and per-user RU allocation information. Inthe context of DL MU-OFDMA, such information enables the respective STAs104 to identify and decode corresponding RUs in the associated datafield. Each HE-SIG-B 368 includes a common field and at least oneSTA-specific (“user-specific”) field. The common field can indicate RUdistributions to multiple STAs 104, indicate the RU assignments in thefrequency domain, indicate which RUs are allocated for MU-MIMOtransmissions and which RUs correspond to MU-OFDMA transmissions, andthe number of users in allocations, among other possibilities. Thecommon field may be encoded with common bits, CRC bits, and tail bits.The user-specific fields are assigned to particular STAs 104 and may beused to schedule specific RUs and to indicate the scheduling to otherWLAN devices. Each user-specific field may include multiple user blockfields (which may be followed by padding). Each user block field mayinclude two user fields that contain information for two respective STAsto decode their respective RU payloads in DATA field 374.

FIG. 4 shows an example PPDU 400 usable for communications between an AP102 and a number of STAs 104. As described herein, each PPDU 400includes a PHY preamble 402 and a PSDU 404. Each PSDU 404 may carry oneor more MAC protocol data units (MPDUs). For example, each PSDU 404 maycarry an aggregated MPDU (A-MPDU) 408 that includes an aggregation ofmultiple A-MPDU subframes 406. Each A-MPDU subframe 406 may include aMAC delimiter 410 and a MAC header 412 prior to the accompanying MPDU414, which comprises the data portion (“payload” or “frame body”) of theA-MPDU subframe 406. The MPDU 414 may carry one or more MAC service dataunit (MSDU) subframes 416. For example, the MPDU 414 may carry anaggregated MSDU (A-MSDU) 418 including multiple MSDU subframes 416. EachMSDU subframe 416 contains a corresponding MSDU 420 preceded by asubframe header 422.

Referring back to the A-MPDU subframe 406, the MAC header 412 mayinclude a number of fields containing information that defines orindicates characteristics or attributes of data encapsulated within theframe body 414. The MAC header 412 also includes a number of fieldsindicating addresses for the data encapsulated within the frame body414. For example, the MAC header 412 may include a combination of asource address, a transmitter address, a receiver address or adestination address. The MAC header 412 may include a frame controlfield containing control information. The frame control field specifiesthe frame type, for example, a data frame, a control frame, or amanagement frame. The MAC header 412 may further including a durationfield indicating a duration extending from the end of the PPDU until theend of an acknowledgment (ACK) of the last PPDU to be transmitted by thewireless communication device (for example, a block ACK (BA) in the caseof an A-MPDU). The use of the duration field serves to reserve thewireless medium for the indicated duration, thus establishing the NAV.Each A-MPDU subframe 406 also may include a frame check sequence (FCS)field 424 for error detection. For example, the FCS field 416 mayinclude a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

As described herein, APs 102 and STAs 104 can support multi-user (MU)communications; that is, concurrent transmissions from one device toeach of multiple devices (for example, multiple simultaneous downlink(DL) communications from an AP 102 to corresponding STAs 104), orconcurrent transmissions from multiple devices to a single device (forexample, multiple simultaneous uplink (UL) transmissions fromcorresponding STAs 104 to an AP 102). To support the MU transmissions,the APs 102 and STAs 104 may utilize multi-user multiple-input,multiple-output (MU-MIMO) and multi-user orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (MU-OFDMA) techniques.

In MU-OFDMA schemes, the available frequency spectrum of the wirelesschannel may be divided into multiple resource units (RUs) each includinga number of different frequency subcarriers (“tones”). Different RUs maybe allocated or assigned by an AP 102 to different STAs 104 atparticular times. The sizes and distributions of the RUs may be referredto as an RU allocation. In some implementations, RUs may be allocated in2 MHz intervals, and as such, the smallest RU may include 26 tonesconsisting of 24 data tones and 2 pilot tones. Consequently, in a 20 MHzchannel, up to 9 RUs (such as 2 MHz, 26-tone RUs) may be allocated(because some tones are reserved for other purposes). Similarly, in a160 MHz channel, up to 74 RUs may be allocated. Larger 52 tone, 106tone, 242 tone, 484 tone and 996 tone RUs also may be allocated.Adjacent RUs may be separated by a null subcarrier (such as a DCsubcarrier), for example, to reduce interference between adjacent RUs,to reduce receiver DC offset, and to avoid transmit center frequencyleakage.

For UL MU transmissions, an AP 102 can transmit a trigger frame toinitiate and synchronize an UL MU-OFDMA or UL MU-MIMO transmission frommultiple STAs 104 to the AP 102. Such trigger frames may thus enablemultiple STAs 104 to send UL traffic to the AP 102 concurrently in time.A trigger frame may address one or more STAs 104 through respectiveassociation identifiers (AIDs), and may assign each AID (and thus eachSTA 104) one or more RUs that can be used to send UL traffic to the AP102. The AP also may designate one or more random access (RA) RUs thatunscheduled STAs 104 may contend for.

APs and STAs that include multiple antennas may support variousdiversity schemes. For example, spatial diversity may be used by one orboth of a transmitting device or a receiving device to increase therobustness of a transmission. For example, to implement a transmitdiversity scheme, a transmitting device may transmit the same dataredundantly over two or more antennas. APs and STAs that includemultiple antennas also may support space-time block coding (STBC). WithSTBC, a transmitting device also transmits multiple copies of a datastream across a number of antennas to exploit the various receivedversions of the data to increase the likelihood of decoding the correctdata. More specifically, the data stream to be transmitted is encoded inblocks, which are distributed among the spaced antennas and across time.Generally, STBC can be used when the number N_(Tx) of transmit antennasexceeds the number N_(SS) of spatial streams (described herein). TheN_(SS) spatial streams may be mapped to a number N_(STS) of space-timestreams, which are mapped to N_(Tx) transmit chains.

APs and STAs that include multiple antennas also may support spatialmultiplexing, which may be used to increase the spectral efficiency andthe resultant throughput of a transmission. To implement spatialmultiplexing, the transmitting device divides the data stream into anumber N_(SS) of separate, independent spatial streams. The spatialstreams are separately encoded and transmitted in parallel via themultiple N_(Tx) transmit antennas. If the transmitting device includesN_(Tx) transmit antennas and the receiving device includes N_(Rx)receive antennas, the maximum number N_(SS) of spatial streams that thetransmitting device can simultaneously transmit to the receiving deviceis limited by the lesser of N_(Tx) and N_(Rx). In some implementations,the AP 102 and STAs 104 may be able to implement both transmit diversityas well as spatial multiplexing. For example, in instances in which thenumber N_(SS) of spatial streams is less than the number N_(Tx) oftransmit antennas, the spatial streams may be multiplied by a spatialexpansion matrix to achieve transmit diversity.

APs and STAs that include multiple antennas also may supportbeamforming. Beamforming refers to the focusing of the energy of atransmission in the direction of a target receiver. Beamforming may beused both in a single-user context, for example, to improve asignal-to-noise ratio (SNR), as well as in a multi-user (MU) context,for example, to enable MU multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)(MU-MIMO) transmissions (also referred to as spatial division multipleaccess (SDMA)). To perform beamforming, a transmitting device, referredto as the beamformer, transmits a signal from each of multiple antennas.The beamformer configures the amplitudes and phase shifts between thesignals transmitted from the different antennas such that the signalsadd constructively along particular directions towards the intendedreceiver, which is referred to as a beamformee. The manner in which thebeamformer configures the amplitudes and phase shifts depends on channelstate information (CSI) associated with the wireless channels over whichthe beamformer intends to communicate with the beamformee.

To obtain the CSI necessary for beamforming, the beamformer may performa channel sounding procedure with the beamformee. For example, thebeamformer may transmit one or more sounding signals (for example, inthe form of a null data packet (NDP)) to the beamformee. The beamformeemay perform measurements for each of the N_(Tx)×N_(Rx) sub-channelscorresponding to all of the transmit antenna and receive antenna pairsbased on the sounding signal. The beamformee generates a feedback matrixbased on the channel measurements and, typically, compresses thefeedback matrix before transmitting the feedback to the beamformer. Thebeamformer may generate a precoding (or “steering”) matrix for thebeamformee based on the feedback and use the steering matrix to precodethe data streams to configure the amplitudes and phase shifts forsubsequent transmissions to the beamformee.

As described herein, a transmitting device may support the use ofdiversity schemes. When performing beamforming, the transmittingbeamforming array gain is logarithmically proportional to the ratio ofN_(Tx) to N_(SS). As such, it is generally desirable, within otherconstraints, to increase the number N_(Tx) of transmit antennas whenperforming beamforming to increase the gain. It is also possible to moreaccurately direct transmissions by increasing the number of transmitantennas. This is especially advantageous in MU transmission contexts inwhich it is particularly important to reduce inter-user interference.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communication device500. In some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 canbe an example of a device for use in a STA such as one of the STAs 104described above with reference to FIG. 1 . In some implementations, thewireless communication device 500 can be an example of a device for usein an AP such as the AP 102 described above with reference to FIG. 1 .The wireless communication device 500 is capable of transmitting (oroutputting for transmission) and receiving wireless communications (forexample, in the form of wireless packets). For example, the wirelesscommunication device can be configured to transmit and receive packetsin the form of PPDUs and MPDUs conforming to an IEEE 802.11 standard,such as that defined by the IEEE 802.11-2016 specification or amendmentsthereof including, but not limited to, 802.11ah, 802.11ad, 802.11ay,802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba and 802.11be.

The wireless communication device 500 can be, or can include, a chip,system on chip (SoC), chipset, package or device that includes one ormore modems 502, for example, a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 compliant) modem. Insome implementations, the one or more modems 502 (collectively “themodem 502”) additionally include a WWAN modem (for example, a 3GPP 4GLTE or 5G compliant modem). In some implementations, the wirelesscommunication device 500 also includes one or more radios 504(collectively “the radio 504”). In some implementations, the wirelesscommunication device 506 further includes one or more processors,processing blocks or processing elements 506 (collectively “theprocessor 506”) and one or more memory blocks or elements 508(collectively “the memory 508”).

The modem 502 can include an intelligent hardware block or device suchas, for example, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) amongother possibilities. The modem 502 is generally configured to implementa PHY layer. For example, the modem 502 is configured to modulatepackets and to output the modulated packets to the radio 504 fortransmission over the wireless medium. The modem 502 is similarlyconfigured to obtain modulated packets received by the radio 504 and todemodulate the packets to provide demodulated packets. In addition to amodulator and a demodulator, the modem 502 may further include digitalsignal processing (DSP) circuitry, automatic gain control (AGC), acoder, a decoder, a multiplexer and a demultiplexer. For example, whilein a transmission mode, data obtained from the processor 506 is providedto a coder, which encodes the data to provide encoded bits. The encodedbits are then mapped to points in a modulation constellation (using aselected MCS) to provide modulated symbols. The modulated symbols maythen be mapped to a number N_(SS) of spatial streams or a number N_(STS)of space-time streams. The modulated symbols in the respective spatialor space-time streams may then be multiplexed, transformed via aninverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block, and subsequently providedto the DSP circuitry for Tx windowing and filtering. The digital signalsmay then be provided to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Theresultant analog signals may then be provided to a frequencyupconverter, and ultimately, the radio 504. In implementations involvingbeamforming, the modulated symbols in the respective spatial streams areprecoded via a steering matrix prior to their provision to the IFFTblock.

While in a reception mode, digital signals received from the radio 504are provided to the DSP circuitry, which is configured to acquire areceived signal, for example, by detecting the presence of the signaland estimating the initial timing and frequency offsets. The DSPcircuitry is further configured to digitally condition the digitalsignals, for example, using channel (narrowband) filtering, analogimpairment conditioning (such as correcting for I/Q imbalance), andapplying digital gain to ultimately obtain a narrowband signal. Theoutput of the DSP circuitry may then be fed to the AGC, which isconfigured to use information extracted from the digital signals, forexample, in one or more received training fields, to determine anappropriate gain. The output of the DSP circuitry also is coupled withthe demodulator, which is configured to extract modulated symbols fromthe signal and, for example, compute the logarithm likelihood ratios(LLRs) for each bit position of each subcarrier in each spatial stream.The demodulator is coupled with the decoder, which may be configured toprocess the LLRs to provide decoded bits. The decoded bits from all ofthe spatial streams are then fed to the demultiplexer fordemultiplexing. The demultiplexed bits may then be descrambled andprovided to the MAC layer (the processor 506) for processing, evaluationor interpretation.

The radio 504 generally includes at least one radio frequency (RF)transmitter (or “transmitter chain”) and at least one RF receiver (or“receiver chain”), which may be combined into one or more transceivers.For example, the RF transmitters and receivers may include various DSPcircuitry including at least one power amplifier (PA) and at least onelow-noise amplifier (LNA), respectively. The RF transmitters andreceivers may in turn be coupled to one or more antennas. For example,in some implementations, the wireless communication device 500 caninclude, or be coupled with, multiple transmit antennas (each with acorresponding transmit chain) and multiple receive antennas (each with acorresponding receive chain). The symbols output from the modem 502 areprovided to the radio 504, which then transmits the symbols via thecoupled antennas. Similarly, symbols received via the antennas areobtained by the radio 504, which then provides the symbols to the modem502.

The processor 506 can include an intelligent hardware block or devicesuch as, for example, a processing core, a processing block, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) such as a field programmablegate array (FPGA), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. The processor 506 processes information receivedthrough the radio 504 and the modem 502, and processes information to beoutput through the modem 502 and the radio 504 for transmission throughthe wireless medium. For example, the processor 506 may implement acontrol plane and MAC layer configured to perform various operationsrelated to the generation and transmission of MPDUs, frames or packets.The MAC layer is configured to perform or facilitate the coding anddecoding of frames, spatial multiplexing, space-time block coding(STBC), beamforming, and OFDMA resource allocation, among otheroperations or techniques. In some implementations, the processor 506 maygenerally control the modem 502 to cause the modem to perform variousoperations described above.

The memory 504 can include tangible storage media such as random-accessmemory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), or combinations thereof. Thememory 504 also can store non-transitory processor- orcomputer-executable software (SW) code containing instructions that,when executed by the processor 506, cause the processor to performvarious operations described herein for wireless communication,including the generation, transmission, reception and interpretation ofMPDUs, frames or packets. For example, various functions of componentsdisclosed herein, or various blocks or steps of a method, operation,process or algorithm disclosed herein, can be implemented as one or moremodules of one or more computer programs.

FIG. 6A shows a block diagram of an example AP 602. For example, the AP602 can be an example implementation of the AP 102 described withreference to FIG. 1 . The AP 602 includes a wireless communicationdevice (WCD) 610. For example, the wireless communication device 610 maybe an example implementation of the wireless communication device 500described with reference to FIG. 5 . The AP 602 also includes multipleantennas 620 coupled with the wireless communication device 610 totransmit and receive wireless communications. In some implementations,the AP 602 additionally includes an application processor 630 coupledwith the wireless communication device 610, and a memory 640 coupledwith the application processor 630. The AP 602 further includes at leastone external network interface 650 that enables the AP 602 tocommunicate with a core network or backhaul network to gain access toexternal networks including the Internet. For example, the externalnetwork interface 650 may include one or both of a wired (for example,Ethernet) network interface and a wireless network interface (such as aWWAN interface). Ones of the aforementioned components can communicatewith other ones of the components directly or indirectly, over at leastone bus. The AP 602 further includes a housing that encompasses thewireless communication device 610, the application processor 630, thememory 640, and at least portions of the antennas 620 and externalnetwork interface 650.

FIG. 6B shows a block diagram of an example STA 604. For example, theSTA 604 can be an example implementation of the STA 104 described withreference to FIG. 1 . The STA 604 includes a wireless communicationdevice 615. For example, the wireless communication device 615 may be anexample implementation of the wireless communication device 500described with reference to FIG. 5 . The STA 604 also includes one ormore antennas 625 coupled with the wireless communication device 615 totransmit and receive wireless communications. The STA 604 additionallyincludes an application processor 635 coupled with the wirelesscommunication device 615, and a memory 645 coupled with the applicationprocessor 635. In some implementations, the STA 604 further includes auser interface (UI) 655 (such as a touchscreen or keypad) and a display665, which may be integrated with the UI 655 to form a touchscreendisplay. In some implementations, the STA 604 may further include one ormore sensors 675 such as, for example, one or more inertial sensors,accelerometers, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, or altitudesensors. Ones of the aforementioned components can communicate withother ones of the components directly or indirectly, over at least onebus. The STA 604 further includes a housing that encompasses thewireless communication device 615, the application processor 635, thememory 645, and at least portions of the antennas 625, UI 655, anddisplay 665.

FIG. 7 shows an example tone map 700 usable for OFDMA transmissions overan 80 MHz bandwidth. In some instances, the tone map 700 may be definedby the IEEE 802.11ax amendments to the IEEE 802.11 wirelesscommunication standard. The 80 MHz bandwidth may be divided intodifferent numbers of RUs based on the size of the RUs. As shown, thetone map 700 includes six tone plans: a first tone plan 721 includesthirty-six RUs that each span 26 tones (“RU26s”), a second tone plan 722includes eighteen RUs that each span 52 tones (“RU52s”), a third toneplan 723 includes nine RUs that each span 106 tones (“RU106s”), a fourthtone plan 724 includes four RUs that each span 242 tones (“RU242s”), afifth tone plan 725 includes two RUs that span 484 tones (“RU484s”), anda sixth tone plan 726 includes one RU that spans 996 tones (“RU996”).Each RU26 includes 24 data subcarriers and 2 pilot subcarriers, eachRU52 includes 48 data subcarriers and 4 pilot subcarriers, each RU106includes 102 data subcarriers and 4 pilot subcarriers, each RU242includes 234 data subcarriers and 8 pilot subcarriers, each RU484includes 468 data subcarriers and 16 pilot subcarriers, and the RU996includes 980 data subcarriers and 16 pilot subcarriers.

Each of the tone plans 721-726 may be divided into a lower 40 MHzportion 701 and an upper 40 MHz portion 702. The lower 40 MHz portion701 and the upper 40 MHz portion 702 of each of the tone plans 721-725may be separated by 23 DC tones, and the lower 40 MHz portion 701 andthe upper 40 MHz portion 702 of the tone plan 726 may be separated by 5DC tones. Additionally, the lower 40 MHz portion 701 of each of the toneplans 721-725 may be divided into first and second 20 MHz portionsseparated by 5 null subcarriers, and the upper 40 MHz portion 702 ofeach of the tone plans 721-725 may be divided into third and fourth 20MHz portions separated by 5 null subcarriers.

As described above, channel puncturing allows wireless communicationdevices to transmit or receive wireless communications over someportions of a wireless channel while excluding other portions of thewireless channel from the transmission or reception of the wirelesscommunications. A wireless communication device (such as an AP or a STA)may puncture one or more subchannels of a wireless channel to avoidinterfering with incumbent systems that occupy the one or moresubchannels. For example, if an AP determines that a 20 MHz subchannelof a 160 MHz wireless channel is occupied by an incumbent system, the APmay puncture the 20 MHz subchannel to avoid interference associated withthe incumbent system while still utilizing the other non-punctured 140MHz bandwidth of the wireless channel. A puncturing pattern may be usedto specify or indicate the punctured 20 MHz subchannel and thenon-punctured 140 MHz subchannels of the 160 MHz wireless channel. Insome implementations, the puncturing pattern may be represented using abitmap including a plurality of bits, where each bit of the bitmapindicates whether a corresponding subchannel of a plurality ofsubchannels of the wireless channel is punctured (or not punctured).Although such bitmaps are described herein as indicating whichsubchannels of a wireless channel are punctured, in some otherimplementations, the bitmaps described herein may indicate whethercorresponding RUs or groups of RUs of a frequency bandwidth arepunctured (or not punctured).

One wireless communication protocol release defines a set of forty-fourpuncturing patterns usable for puncturing an 80 MHz bandwidth, a 160 MHzbandwidth, a 320 MHz bandwidth of a wireless channel, and a contiguousbandwidth of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz or 320 MHz of a wirelesschannel. The set of puncturing patterns may include four puncturingpatterns indicating different 20 MHz punctured subchannels of an 80 MHzbandwidth, may include eight puncturing patterns indicating different 20MHz punctured subchannels of a 160 MHz bandwidth, may include fourpuncturing patterns indicating different 40 MHz punctured subchannels ofthe 160 MHz bandwidth, may include eight puncturing patterns indicatingdifferent 40 MHz punctured subchannels of a 320 MHz bandwidth, mayinclude four puncturing patterns indicating different 80 MHz puncturedsubchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth, and may include twelve puncturingpatterns indicating different 80+40 MHz punctured subchannels of the 320MHz bandwidth. In some instances, the wireless communication protocolrelease may be a first release (Release 1) of the IEEE 802.11beamendment (or earlier amendments) to the IEEE 802.11 wirelesscommunication standard.

In some implementations, a 4-bit or 8-bit bitmap may be used to indicatewhich (if any) of the puncturing patterns defined by the wirelesscommunication protocol release are to be used for channel puncturing.For example, FIG. 8A depicts different configurations of a 4-bit bitmap800 that can be used to indicate various puncturing patterns for a 20MHz bandwidth, a 40 MHz bandwidth, and an 80 MHz bandwidth. As usedherein, a bit value of “x” indicates that a corresponding subchannel ispunctured, and a bit value of “1” indicates that the correspondingsubchannel is not punctured. For example, the bitmap 800 having index 0shown as [1111] indicates contiguous 20 MHz or 40 MHz bandwidth. Thebitmap 800 having index 1 shown as [1111] indicates that none of the 80MHz frequency bandwidth is punctured. The bitmap 800 having index 2shown as [x111] indicates that the 1^(st) 20 MHz subchannel of the 80MHz bandwidth is punctured, the bitmap 800 having index 3 shown as[1x11] indicates that the 2^(nd) 20 MHz subchannel of the 80 MHzbandwidth is punctured, the bitmap 800 having index 4 shown as [11x1]indicates that the 3^(rd) 20 MHz subchannel of the 80 MHz bandwidth ispunctured, and the bitmap 800 having index 5 shown as [111x] indicatesthat the 4^(th) 20 MHz subchannel of the 80 MHz bandwidth is punctured.

FIG. 8B depicts different configurations of an 8-bit bitmap 810 that canbe used to indicate various puncturing patterns for a 160 MHz bandwidth.The bitmap 810 having index 0 shown as [11111111] indicates that none ofthe subchannels of the 160 MHz bandwidth are punctured. The bitmap 810can have eight additional index values 1-8 indicating correspondingpuncturing patterns that puncture different 20 MHz subchannels of the160 MHz bandwidth. For example, the bitmap 810 having index 1 shown as[x1111111] indicates that the 1^(st) 20 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHzbandwidth is punctured, the bitmap 810 having index 2 shown as[1x111111] indicates that the 2^(nd) 20 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHzbandwidth is punctured, the bitmap 810 having index 3 shown as[11x11111] indicates that the 3^(rd) 20 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHzbandwidth is punctured, and so on.

The bitmap 810 can have four additional index values 9-12 indicatingcorresponding puncturing patterns that puncture different 40 MHzsubchannels of the 160 MHz bandwidth, where the presence of adjacent “x”bits in a respective configuration of the bitmap 810 indicates thatadjacent 20 MHz subchannels of the 160 MHz bandwidth are punctured(thereby resulting in a contiguous 40 MHz punctured subchannel). Forexample, the bitmap 810 having index 9 shown as [xx111111] indicatesthat the 1^(st) and 2^(nd) 20 MHz subchannels of the 160 MHz bandwidthare punctured, the bitmap 810 having index 10 shown as [11xx1111]indicates that the 3^(rd) and 4^(th) 20 MHz subchannels of the 160 MHzbandwidth are punctured, and so on.

FIG. 8C depicts different configurations of an 8-bit bitmap 820 that canbe used to indicate various puncturing patterns for a 320 MHz bandwidth.The bitmap 820 having index 0 shown as [11111111] indicates that none ofthe subchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth are punctured. The bitmap 820can have eight additional index values 1-8 indicating correspondingpuncturing patterns that puncture different 40 MHz subchannels of the320 MHz bandwidth. For example, the bitmap 820 having index 1 shown as[x1111111] indicates that the 1^(st) 40 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHzbandwidth is punctured, the bitmap 820 having index 2 shown as[1x111111] indicates that the 2^(nd) 40 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHzbandwidth is punctured, the bitmap 820 having index 3 shown as[11x11111] indicates that the 3^(rd) 40 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHzbandwidth is punctured, and so on.

The bitmap 820 can have four additional index values 9-12 indicatingcorresponding puncturing patterns that puncture different 80 MHzsubchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth. For example, the bitmap 820 havingindex 9 shown as [xx111111] indicates that the 1^(st) and 2^(nd) 40 MHzsubchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth are punctured (thereby resulting ina contiguous 80 MHz punctured subchannel), the bitmap 820 having index10 shown as [11xx1111] indicates that the 3^(rd) and 4th 40 MHzsubchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth are punctured (thereby resulting ina contiguous 80 MHz punctured subchannel), and so on.

The bitmap 820 can have twelve additional index values 13-24 indicatingcorresponding puncturing patterns that puncture different 80+40 MHzsubchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth, where the presence of non-adjacent“x” bits in a respective configuration of the bitmap 820 indicates thatnon-contiguous 40 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth arepunctured. For example, the bitmap 820 having index 13 shown as[xxx11111] indicates that the 1^(st), 2^(nd), and 3^(rd) 40 MHzsubchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth are punctured (thereby resulting ina contiguous 120 MHz punctured subchannel), the bitmap 820 having index14 shown as [xx1x1111] indicates that the 1st, 2^(nd), and 4^(th) 40 MHzsubchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth are punctured, the bitmap havingindex 19 shown as [x11111xx] indicates that the 1^(st), 7^(th), and8^(th) 40 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth are punctured, thebitmap having index 20 shown as [1x1111xx] indicates that the 2^(nd),7^(th), and 8^(th) 40 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz bandwidth arepunctured, and so on.

As discussed, as new WLAN communication protocols enable access to agreater range of bandwidths, new or additional channel puncturingpatterns may be needed to efficiently utilize the wider channelbandwidths. The wider channel bandwidths may also be efficientlyutilized by defining new puncturing patterns that have smallerpuncturing granularities than existing puncturing patterns. For example,while existing puncturing patterns may indicate whether certain 40 MHzor 80 MHz subchannels of a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth are to bepunctured, new puncturing patterns may be defined that also indicatewhether certain 20 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidthare to be punctured.

These new or additional puncturing patterns may increase the number ofdifferent puncturing patterns available to wireless communicationdevices, which in turn may increase both the number and the size of thebitmaps used to indicate which puncturing pattern of a set of puncturingpatterns is to be used for channel puncturing. A wireless communicationdevice configured to operate according to one wireless communicationprotocol release that defines a relatively small set of puncturingpatterns may not be able to decode the larger bitmaps associated withanother wireless communication protocol release that defines arelatively large set of puncturing patterns. Moreover, the wirelesscommunication device may not be aware of the new or additionalpuncturing patterns defined by the other wireless communication protocolrelease.

To ensure compatibility between wireless communication devicesconfigured to operate according to different wireless communicationprotocol releases that define different numbers or configurations ofpuncturing patterns, aspects of the present disclosure provide amechanism through which a wireless communication device operatingaccording to one wireless communication protocol release can determineor derive puncturing patterns defined by another wireless communicationprotocol release.

FIG. 9 shows an example set of puncturing patterns 900 useable forwireless transmissions over an 80 MHz frequency bandwidth according toone wireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the setof puncturing patterns 900 may be defined by Release 1 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 900 includes 4puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 1-4 corresponding to bitmaps1-4, respectively, of FIG. 8A. Each of the 4 puncturing patternsindicates a different 20 MHz subchannel of the 80 MHz frequencybandwidth that is to be punctured. For example, the 1^(st) puncturingpattern having bitmap index 1 indicates that the 1^(st) 20 MHzsubchannel is to be punctured, the 2^(nd) puncturing pattern havingbitmap index 2 indicates that the 2^(nd) 20 MHz subchannel is to bepunctured, the 3^(rd) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 3 indicatesthat the 3^(rd) 20 MHz subchannel is to be punctured, and the 4^(th)puncturing pattern having bitmap index 4 indicates that the 4^(th) 20MHz subchannel is to be punctured.

FIG. 10A shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1000A useable forwireless transmissions over a 160 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1000A may be defined by Release 1 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1000A includes 8puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 1-8 corresponding to bitmaps1-8, respectively, of FIG. 8B. Each of the 8 puncturing patternsindicates a different 20 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHz frequencybandwidth that is to be punctured. For example, the 1^(st) puncturingpattern having bitmap index 1 indicates that the 1^(st) 20 MHzsubchannel is to be punctured, the 2^(nd) puncturing pattern havingbitmap index 2 indicates that the 2^(nd) 20 MHz subchannel is to bepunctured, the 3^(rd) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 3 indicatesthat the 3^(rd) 20 MHz subchannel is to be punctured, and so on, wherethe 8^(th) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 8 indicates that the8^(th) 20 MHz subchannel is to be punctured.

FIG. 10B shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1000B useable forwireless transmissions over a 160 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1000B may be defined by Release 1 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1000B includes 4puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 9-12 corresponding to bitmaps9-12, respectively, of FIG. 8B. Each of the 4 puncturing patternsindicates a different 40 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHz frequencybandwidth that is to be punctured. For example, the 1^(st) puncturingpattern having bitmap index 9 indicates that the 1^(st) 40 MHzsubchannel is to be punctured, the 2nd puncturing pattern having bitmapindex 10 indicates that the 2^(nd) 40 MHz subchannel is to be punctured,the 3^(rd) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 11 indicates that the3^(rd) 40 MHz subchannel is to be punctured, and the 4th puncturingpattern having bitmap index 12 indicates that the 4^(th) 40 MHzsubchannel is to be punctured.

FIG. 11A shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1100A useable forwireless transmissions over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1100A may be defined by Release 1 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1100A includes 8puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 1-8 corresponding to bitmaps1-8, respectively, of FIG. 8C. Each of the 8 puncturing patternsindicates a different 40 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHz frequencybandwidth that is to be punctured. For example, the 1st puncturingpattern having bitmap index 1 indicates that the 1st 40 MHz subchannelis to be punctured, the 2^(nd) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 2indicates that the 2^(nd) 40 MHz subchannel is to be punctured, the3^(rd) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 3 indicates that the3^(rd) 40 MHz subchannel is to be punctured, and so on, where the 8^(th)puncturing pattern having bitmap index 8 indicates that the 8^(th) 40MHz subchannel is to be punctured.

FIG. 11B shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1100B useable forwireless transmissions over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to anotherwireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1100B may be defined by a second release (Release 2)of the IEEE 802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1100Bincludes 8 puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 1-8 that indicatedifferent 40 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth that areto be punctured. The six puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 3-8are the same as the six corresponding puncturing patterns of FIG. 11Ahaving respective bitmap indices 3-8.

However, the 1st and 2^(nd) puncturing patterns of FIG. 11B havingrespective bitmap indices 1 and 2 are not the same as the 1st and 2^(nd)puncturing patterns, respectively, of FIG. 11A. For example, the 1stpuncturing pattern of FIG. 11B includes a non-punctured 20 MHzsubchannel 1101 that is not included in the 1st puncturing pattern ofFIG. 11A, and the 2^(nd) puncturing pattern of FIG. 11B includes anon-punctured 20 MHz subchannel 1102 that is not included in the 2^(nd)puncturing pattern of FIG. 11A. As such, each of the 1st and 2^(nd)puncturing patterns of FIG. 11B may provide an additional 20 MHz ofusable frequency bandwidth, as compared to the 1st and 2^(nd) puncturingpatterns of FIG. 11A. Inclusion of these additional non-punctured 20 MHzsubchannels in the 1st and 2^(nd) puncturing patterns of FIG. 11B alsoprovides a smaller puncturing granularity. That is, while the puncturingpatterns of FIG. 11A specify only 40 MHz punctured subchannels, the 1stand 2^(nd) puncturing patterns of FIG. 11B specify 20 MHz puncturedsubchannels and 40 MHz punctured subchannels.

In some implementations, a 16-bit bitmap may be used to represent thepuncturing patterns 1100B of FIG. 11B. In some instances, each bit ofthe 16-bit bitmap may indicate whether a corresponding 20 MHz subchannelof the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is to be punctured. In contrast, thepuncturing patterns 1100A of FIG. 11A may be represented by the 8-bitbitmap 820 of FIG. 8C, where each of the 8 bits indicates whether acorresponding 40 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is tobe punctured. In this way, using the 16-bit bitmap to represent the setof puncturing patterns 1100B may provide a smaller puncturinggranularity than the 8-bit bitmap 820 of FIG. 8C.

FIG. 12A shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1200A useable forwireless transmissions over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1200A may be defined by Release 1 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1200A includes 4puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 9-12 corresponding to bitmaps9-12, respectively, of FIG. 8C. Each of the 4 puncturing patternsindicates a different 80 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHz frequencybandwidth that is to be punctured. For example, the 1^(st) puncturingpattern having bitmap index 9 indicates that the 1^(st) 80 MHzsubchannel is to be punctured, the 2^(nd) puncturing pattern havingbitmap index 10 indicates that the 2^(nd) 80 MHz subchannel is to bepunctured, the 3^(rd) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 11indicates that the 3^(rd) 80 MHz subchannel is to be punctured, and the4^(th) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 12 indicates that the4^(th) 80 MHz subchannel is to be punctured.

FIG. 12B shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1200B useable forwireless transmissions over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to anotherwireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1200B may be defined by Release 2 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1200B includes 4puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 9-12 that indicate different80 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth that are to bepunctured. The three puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 10-12 arethe same as the three corresponding puncturing patterns of FIG. 12Ahaving respective bitmap indices 10-12.

However, the 1^(st) puncturing pattern of FIG. 12B having bitmap index 9is not the same as the corresponding 1^(st) puncturing pattern of FIG.12A. For example, the 1^(st) puncturing pattern of FIG. 12B includes 2non-punctured 20 MHz subchannels 1201 and 1202 that are not included inthe 1^(st) puncturing pattern of FIG. 12A. As such, the 1^(st)puncturing pattern of FIG. 12B may provide an additional 40 MHz ofusable frequency bandwidth, as compared to the 1^(st) puncturing patternof FIG. 12A. Inclusion of these additional non-punctured 20 MHzsubchannels in the 1st puncturing pattern of FIG. 12B also provides asmaller puncturing granularity. That is, while the puncturing patternsof FIG. 12A specify only 80 MHz punctured subchannels, the 1stpuncturing pattern of FIG. 12B specifies two adjacent 20 MHz puncturedsubchannels.

In some implementations, a 16-bit bitmap may be used to represent thepuncturing patterns 1200B of FIG. 12B. In some instances, each bit ofthe 16-bit bitmap may indicate whether a corresponding 20 MHz subchannelof the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is to be punctured. In contrast, thepuncturing patterns 1200A of FIG. 12A are represented by the 8-bitbitmap 820 of FIG. 8C, where each of the 8 bits indicates whether acorresponding 40 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is tobe punctured. In this way, using the 16-bit bitmap to represent the setof puncturing patterns 1200B may provide a smaller puncturinggranularity than the 8-bit bitmap 820 of FIG. 8C.

FIG. 13A shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1300A useable forwireless transmissions over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to onewireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1300A may be defined by Release 1 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1300A includes 12puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 13-24 corresponding to bitmaps13-24, respectively, of FIG. 8C. Each of the 12 puncturing patternsindicates a different 80+40 MHz subchannel of the 320 MHz frequencybandwidth that is to be punctured. For example, the 1st puncturingpattern having bitmap index 13 indicates that the 1^(st), 2^(nd), and3^(rd) 40 MHz subchannels of the 320 frequency bandwidth are to bepunctured, the 2^(nd) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 14indicates that the 1^(st), 2^(nd), and 4^(th) 40 MHz subchannels of the320 frequency bandwidth are to be punctured, the 3^(rd) puncturingpattern having bitmap index 15 indicates that the 1^(st), 2^(nd), and5^(th) 40 MHz subchannels of the 320 frequency bandwidth are to bepunctured, and so on, where the 6^(th) puncturing pattern having bitmapindex 18 indicates that the 1st, 2^(nd) and 8^(th) 40 MHz subchannels ofthe 320 frequency bandwidth are to be punctured.

Further, the 7th puncturing pattern having bitmap index 19 indicatesthat the 1^(st), 7^(nd), and 8^(th) 40 MHz subchannels of the 320frequency bandwidth are to be punctured, the 8th puncturing patternhaving bitmap index 20 indicates that the 2^(nd), 7^(nd), and 8^(th) 40MHz subchannels of the 320 frequency bandwidth are to be punctured, andso on, where the 12^(th) puncturing pattern having bitmap index 24indicates that the 6^(th), 7^(th) and 8^(th) 40 MHz subchannels of the320 frequency bandwidth are to be punctured. Note that the Pt and 2^(nd)40 MHz subchannels may be collectively referred to as the first 80 MHzsubchannel, and the 7th and 8^(th) 40 MHz subchannels may becollectively referred to as the last 80 MHz subchannel.

FIG. 13B shows an example set of puncturing patterns 1300B useable forwireless transmissions over a 320 MHz bandwidth according to anotherwireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the set ofpuncturing patterns 1300B may be defined by Release 2 of the IEEE802.11be amendment. The set of puncturing patterns 1300B includes 12puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 13-24 that indicate different80+40 MHz subchannels of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth that are to bepunctured. The four puncturing patterns having bitmap indices 13-16 arethe same as the four corresponding puncturing patterns of FIG. 13Ahaving respective bitmap indices 13-16.

However, the puncturing patterns of FIG. 13B having bitmap indices 17-24are not the same as the corresponding puncturing patterns of FIG. 13Ahaving respective indices 17-24. For example, the puncturing pattern ofFIG. 13B having index 19 includes a non-punctured 20 MHz subchannel 1301that is not included in the corresponding puncturing pattern of FIG.13A. As such, the puncturing pattern of FIG. 13B having index 19 mayprovide an additional 20 MHz of usable frequency bandwidth as comparedto the corresponding puncturing pattern of FIG. 13A. Inclusion of thisadditional 20 MHz non-punctured subchannel in the puncturing pattern ofFIG. 13B also provides a smaller puncturing granularity, as discussed.

The puncturing pattern of FIG. 13B having index 20 includes 3non-punctured 20 MHz subchannels 1311-1313 that are not included in thecorresponding puncturing pattern of FIG. 13A. As such, the puncturingpattern of FIG. 13B having index 20 may provide an additional 60 MHz ofusable frequency bandwidth as compared to the corresponding puncturingpattern of FIG. 13A. The puncturing patterns of FIG. 13B havingrespective bitmap indices 17, 21, 22, and 23 also include 3non-punctured 20 MHz subchannels that are not included in thecorresponding puncturing patterns of FIG. 13A, and thus may also providean additional 60 MHz of usable frequency bandwidth as compared to thecorresponding puncturing patterns of FIG. 13A. Inclusion of these threeadditional 20 MHz non-punctured subchannels in the puncturing patternsof FIG. 13B also provides a smaller puncturing granularity. That is,while the puncturing patterns of FIG. 13A specify 40 MHz and 80 MHzpunctured subchannels, the puncturing patterns having respective indices17, 20, 21, 22, and 23 of FIG. 13B specify 20 MHz punctured subchannels,40 MHz punctured subchannels, and 80 MHz punctured subchannels.

The puncturing pattern of FIG. 13B having index 18 includes 2non-punctured 20 MHz subchannels 1371-1372 that are not included in thecorresponding puncturing pattern of FIG. 13A. Similarly, the puncturingpattern of FIG. 13B having bitmap index 24 includes 2 non-punctured 20MHz subchannels 1351-1352 that are not included in the correspondingpuncturing pattern of FIG. 13A. As such, the puncturing patterns of FIG.13B having respective indices 18 and 24 may provide an additional 40 MHzof usable frequency bandwidth as compared to the correspondingpuncturing patterns of FIG. 13A. Inclusion of these two additional 20MHz non-punctured subchannels in the puncturing patterns of FIG. 13Balso provides a smaller puncturing granularity, as discussed.

In some implementations, the bitmaps 810, 820, and 830 of FIGS. 8A, 8B,and 8C may be configured as 16-bit bitmaps to provide compatibility withwireless communication protocol releases that use 16-bit bitmaps toindicate which puncturing pattern of a set of puncturing patterns is tobe used for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel. Forexample, referring also to FIG. 8C, the 8-bit bitmap 830 equal to[x1111111] may be configured as a 16-bit bitmap equal to[xx11111111111111], where each bit in the 8-bit bitmap 830 indicateswhether a corresponding 40 MHz subchannel of a 160 MHz frequencybandwidth is punctured, and each bit in the corresponding 16-bit bitmapindicates whether a respective 20 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHzfrequency bandwidth is punctured. For another example, the 8-bit bitmap830 equal to [xx111111] may be configured as a 16-bit bitmap equal to[xxxx111111111111], where each bit in the 8-bit bitmap 830 indicateswhether a corresponding 40 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHz frequencybandwidth is punctured, and each bit in the corresponding 16-bit bitmapindicates whether a respective 20 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHzfrequency bandwidth is punctured. For another example, the 8-bit bitmap830 equal to [xx1111x1] may be configured as a 16-bit bitmap equal to[xxxx11111111xx11], where each bit in the 8-bit bitmap 830 indicateswhether a corresponding 40 MHz subchannel of a 160 MHz frequencybandwidth is punctured, and each bit in the corresponding 16-bit bitmapindicates whether a respective 20 MHz subchannel of the 160 MHzfrequency bandwidth is punctured.

FIG. 13C shows different configurations of a 16-bit bitmap 1350indicating the puncturing patterns 1100A, 1200A, and 1300A of respectiveFIGS. 11A, 12A, and 13A according to some implementations. For example,the bitmap 1350 having index 1 shown as [xx11111111111111] indicates thepuncturing pattern 1100A having index 1 of FIG. 11A, the bitmap havingindex 9 shown as [xxxx111111111111] indicates the puncturing pattern1200A having index 1 of FIG. 12A, and so on. For another example, thebitmap having index 13 shown as [xxxxxx1111111111] indicates thepuncturing pattern 1300B having index 13 of FIG. 13B, the bitmap havingindex 14 shown as [xxxx11xx11111111] indicates the puncturing pattern1300B having index 14 of FIG. 13B, the bitmap having index 15 shown as[xxxx1111xx111111] indicates the puncturing pattern 1300B having index15 of FIG. 13B, and so on.

FIG. 13D shows different configurations of a 16-bit bitmap 1360indicating the puncturing patterns of respective FIGS. 11B, 12B, and 13Baccording to some implementations. For example, the bitmap 1360 havingindex 1 shown as [1x11111111111111] indicates the puncturing pattern1100B having index 1 of FIG. 11B, the bitmap having index 9 shown as[1xx1111111111111] indicates the puncturing pattern 1200B having index 1of FIG. 12B, and so on. For another example, the bitmap having index 13shown as [xxxxxxx111111111] indicates the puncturing pattern 1300Bhaving index 13 of FIG. 13B, the bitmap having index 14 shown as[xxxxx11xx1111111] indicates the puncturing pattern 1300B having index14 of FIG. 13B, the bitmap having index 15 shown as [xxxxx1111xx11111]indicates the puncturing pattern 1300B having index 15 of FIG. 13B, andso on.

FIG. 14A shows a sequence diagram of an example communication 1400 thatsupports channel puncturing. In some implementations, the communication1400 may be performed between an AP 1402 and one or more STAs 1404 (onlyone STA is shown in FIG. 14A for simplicity). The AP 1402 may be anexample of the AP 102 of FIG. 1 or the AP 602 of FIG. 6A, and the STA1404 may be an example of the STA 104 of FIG. 1 or the STA 604 of FIG.6B. In other implementations, the communication 1400 may be performedbetween two APs. In some other implementations, the communication 1400may be performed between two STAs.

The AP 1402 selects a first puncturing pattern of a set of puncturingpatterns for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel1405. The first puncturing pattern is defined by a first wirelesscommunication protocol release. In some instances, the first wirelesscommunication protocol release may be Release 2 of the IEEE 802.11beamendment. The AP 1402 sends an indication of the first puncturingpattern over the wireless channel 1405 to the STA 1404. The indicationmay be a bitmap including a plurality of bits, where each bit of thebitmap indicates whether a corresponding subchannel of the wirelesschannel 1405 is punctured (or not punctured). In some implementations,the bitmap may be a 16-bit bitmap, where each bit corresponds to a 20MHz subchannel of a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth. In some instances, thebitmap may be carried in an EHT operation element of a beacon frame, anassociation response frame, a probe response frame, an action frame, oranother suitable frame. In some other instances, the bitmap may becarried in another portion of a frame.

The STA 1404 receives the indication, and determines whether the STA1404 is configured to operate according to the first wirelesscommunication protocol release. If the STA 1404 is configured to operateaccording to the first wireless communication protocol release, the STA1404 decodes the bitmap, obtains the first puncturing pattern, andtransits one or more PPDUs to the AP 1402 over the wireless channel 1405according to the first puncturing pattern.

Conversely, if the STA 1404 is configured to operate according to asecond wireless communication protocol release, the STA 1404 may not beable to decode the bitmap and obtain the first puncturing pattern (suchas unless the STA is specifically configured to operate according to thefirst wireless communication protocol release). In some instances, thesecond wireless communication protocol release may be Release 1 of theIEEE 802.11be amendment. The STA 1404 may select a puncturing patterndefined by the second wireless communication protocol release totransmit or receive data over the wireless channel 1405.

In some implementations, the STA 1404 selects, from a set of puncturingpatterns defined by the second wireless communication protocol release,a second puncturing pattern that includes one or more non-puncturedsubchannels that are subsets of one or more corresponding non-puncturedsubchannels of the first puncturing pattern. The second puncturingpattern may also include a non-punctured 20 MHz subchannel correspondingto the primary channel of the AP 1402, for example, so that managementframes, control frames, and action frames can be exchanged between theAP 1402 and the STA 1404 over the primary channel. In some instances,the second puncturing pattern indicates a frequency bandwidth of 320 MHzand includes zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHzbandwidth, an 80 MHz bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz bandwidth. In otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern indicates a frequency bandwidthof 160 MHz and includes zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40MHz bandwidth or a 20 MHz bandwidth. In some other instances, the secondpuncturing pattern indicates a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz andincludes zero or more punctured subchannels having a 20 MHz bandwidth.In some other instances, the second puncturing pattern indicates afrequency bandwidth of 40 MHz without channel puncturing. In some otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern indicates frequency bandwidthof 20 MHz without channel puncturing.

In some implementations, the STA 1404 selects the second puncturingpattern based on a closest match between the bitmap received from the AP1402 and one or more stored bitmaps corresponding to the set ofpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release. In some instances, the STA 1404 stores a plurality of16-bit bitmaps that represent the set of puncturing patterns defined bythe second wireless communication protocol release. That is, the 4-bitbitmaps 810 of FIG. 8A and the 8-bit bitmaps 820 and 830 of respectiveFIGS. 8B and 8C may be converted to 16-bit bitmaps, as discussed abovewith reference to FIG. 13C. For example, if the AP sends an indicationcarrying a 16-bit bitmap [1x1111111111x111] and the primary channel ofthe AP 1402 corresponds to the third bit in the received bitmap, the STA1404 may compare the received bitmap [1x1111111111x111] with the stored16-bit bitmaps corresponding to the puncturing patterns defined by thesecond wireless communication protocol release, some of which are shownin FIG. 13C. In this example, multiple puncturing patterns defined bythe second wireless communication protocol release can be used fortransmitting data to or receiving data from a STA that is configured tooperate according to the second wireless communication protocol release(and not configured to operate according to the first wirelesscommunication protocol release). For example, a stored 16-bit bitmap[xx1xxxxxxxxxxxxx] derived from the 20 MHz bandwidth puncturing patternbitmaps of FIG. 8A and a stored 16-bit bitmap [xx1111111111xxxx] derivedfrom the 320 MHz bandwidth puncturing pattern bitmaps of FIG. 8C mayboth match the received puncturing pattern bitmap. Between the twoexample matching bitmaps, the bitmap=[xx1111111111xxxx] most closelymatches the received 16-bit bitmap [1x1111111111x111]. The matching16-bit bitmap [xx1111111111xxxx] indicates the puncturing pattern 1300Aof FIG. 13A having index 19. The STA 1404 may use the puncturing pattern1300A having index 19 to transmit or receive data over the wirelesschannel 1405 to comply with the puncturing pattern indicated by the AP1402, for example, because the non-punctured subchannels of the storedmatching puncturing pattern are subsets of the non-punctured subchannelsof the puncturing pattern indicated by the AP 1402.

If more than one of the bitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturingpatterns defined by the second wireless communication protocol releasematches the bitmap provided by the AP 1402, which may indicate that morethan one of the corresponding puncturing patterns defined by the secondwireless communication protocol release includes non-puncturedsubchannels that are subsets of the non-punctured subchannels of thefirst puncturing pattern selected by the AP 1402, the STA 1404 selectsthe corresponding puncturing pattern that includes the mostnon-punctured subchannels. In this way, the STA 1404 may increase ormaximize the frequency bandwidth over which packets can be exchangedwith the AP 1402.

If more two or more of the corresponding puncturing patterns defined bythe second wireless communication protocol release have the same numberof non-punctured subchannels (e.g., the most non-punctured subchannels),the STA 1404 may select one of the two or more corresponding puncturingpatterns based on their relative frequencies or based on their relativebitmap indices. For example, in some instances, the STA 1404 selects thepuncturing pattern of the two or more corresponding puncturing patternsthat includes a non-punctured subchannel associated with relatively highfrequencies of the wireless channel. In some other instances, the STA1404 selects the puncturing pattern of the two or more correspondingpuncturing patterns that includes a non-punctured subchannel associatedwith relatively low frequencies of the wireless channel. In this way, iftwo or more of the puncturing patterns defined by the second wirelesscommunication protocol release include non-punctured subchannels thatare subsets of the non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturingpattern and that also include the most non-punctured subchannels, theSTA may select one of the two or more corresponding puncturing patternsbased on the relative frequencies of their respective non-puncturedsubchannels. For example, if the STA determines that channelinterference on an upper 40 MHz frequency portion of a 320 MHz wirelesschannel is less than the channel interference on a lower 40 MHzfrequency portion of the 320 MHz wireless channel, the STA may selectthe puncturing pattern that includes non-punctured subchannels in theupper 40 MHz frequency portion of the 320 MHz wireless channel, forexample, to minimize packet loss due to channel interference.

In some other instances, the STA 1404 selects the puncturing pattern ofthe two or more corresponding puncturing patterns that is associatedwith a bitmap having the highest binary index, or selects the puncturingpattern of the two or more corresponding puncturing patterns that isassociated with a bitmap having the lowest highest binary index. The AP1402 (and other STAs associated with the AP 1402) may also follow thisprocess to determine which of the corresponding puncturing patternsdefined by the second wireless communication protocol release is to beused for channel puncturing. In this way, the AP 1402 and STAs 1404associated with the AP 1402 may select the same puncturing patterndefined by the second wireless communication protocol release without anexplicit indication.

FIG. 14B shows a sequence diagram of another example communication 1410that supports channel puncturing. In some implementations, thecommunication 1410 may be performed between the AP 1402 and one or moreSTAs 1404 (only one STA is shown in FIG. 14B for simplicity). In otherimplementations, the communication 1410 may be performed between twoAPs. In some other implementations, the communication 1410 may beperformed between two STAs.

The AP 1402 selects a first puncturing pattern of a set of puncturingpatterns for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel1405. The first puncturing pattern is defined by a first wirelesscommunication protocol release. In some instances, the first wirelesscommunication protocol release may be Release 2 of the IEEE 802.11beamendment.

The AP 1402 determines that there is a presence of one or more STAs(such as the STA 1404) configured to operate according to the secondwireless communication protocol release and not configured to operateaccording to the first wireless communication protocol release. Inresponse to the determination, the AP 1402 selects a second puncturingpattern from the set of puncturing patterns defined by the secondwireless communication protocol release. As described with reference toFIG. 14A, the selected second puncturing pattern includes anon-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to the primary channel ofthe AP 1402, for example, so that management frames, control frames, andaction frames can be exchanged between the AP 1402 and the STA 1404 overthe primary channel. The selected second puncturing pattern alsoincludes one or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of oneor more corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturingpattern.

In some implementations, the AP 1402 selects the second puncturingpattern from the set of puncturing patterns based on a match between thebitmap received from the AP 1402 and one or more stored bitmapscorresponding to the set of puncturing patterns defined by the secondwireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the AP 1402may send an indication of the second puncturing pattern over thewireless channel 1405 to the STA 1404. The indication may be a bitmapincluding a plurality of bits, where each bit of the bitmap indicateswhether a corresponding subchannel of the wireless channel 1405 ispunctured (or not punctured).

In some other instances, the indication may be a single bit if thenumber of puncturing pattern candidates for matching the secondpuncturing pattern selected by the AP 1402 is less than or equal to 2.For example, if the AP indicates a 16-bit bitmap of [11xx11111111x111]based on the first wireless communication protocol release and theprimary channel corresponding to the 5^(th) bit (from the left of thebitmap), a STA configured to operate according to the second wirelesscommunication protocol release may derive exactly two candidatepuncturing patterns for matching the second puncturing pattern:[11xx11111111xxxx] and [xxxx11111111xx11]. That is, these two puncturingpatterns derived by the STA 1404 comply with the puncturing pattern[11xx11111111x111] selected by the AP 1402 in that they do not puncturethe primary channel and also include the most non-punctured subchannelsamong the patterns defined in the second wireless communication protocolrelease. In this case, the AP 1402 may use the single bit to explicitlyindicate which of the candidate puncturing patterns has been selected asthe second puncturing pattern. The bitmap or bit may be carried in anEHT operation element of a beacon frame, an association response frame,a probe response frame, an action frame, or another suitable frame orpacket. In other instances, the bitmap may be carried in another portionof a frame.

The STA 1404 receives the indication, decodes the bitmap or bit providedin the indication, and obtains the second puncturing pattern selected bythe AP 1402 for transmitting or receiving data over the wireless channel1405. Thereafter, the STA 1404 and AP 1402 exchange PPDUs with oneanother over the wireless channel 1405 based on the selected secondpuncturing pattern.

In some other implementations, the AP 1402 may send beacon frames oraction frames that include two puncturing pattern indication fields. Forexample, in some instances, a first indication field may carry a bitmapfor puncturing patterns defined by the first wireless communicationprotocol release, and a second indication field may carry a bitmap forpuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release.

FIG. 15A shows an example beacon frame 1500 usable for communicationsbetween wireless communication devices. The beacon frame 1500 is shownto include a frame control field 1501, a duration field 1502, an address1 field 1503, an address 2 field 1504, an address 3 field 1505, asequence control field 1506, an HT control field 1507, a frame body1508, and an Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field 1509. The frame controlfield 1501 may carry control information indicating certain parametersof the beacon frame 1500 such as a protocol version, a type, and asubtype. The duration field 1502 may carry information indicating thetotal length (in bytes) of the beacon frame 1500. The Address 1 field1503, the Address 2 field 1504, and the Address 3 field 1505 may carryindividual or group addresses for all or a portion of the beacon frame1500, such as a basic service set identifier (BSSID), a source address(SA), a destination address (DA), a transmitting STA address (TA), or areceiving STA address (RA). The sequence control field 1506 may indicatea sequence number, a fragment number, or both, corresponding to thebeacon frame 1500. The HT control field 1507 may contain controlinformation for the beacon frame 1500. The FCS field 1509 may containinformation for validating or interpreting all or a portion of thebeacon frame 1500.

The frame body 1508 may include any suitable number of fields orelements (such as information elements). In some implementations, thebeacon frame 1500 may include one or more mandatory fields such as, forexample, a timestamp field, a beacon interval field, a capabilityinformation field, an SSID field, and a supported rate field, amongothers. The beacon frame 1500 may also include one or more informationelements such as, for example, an EHT Operation Element, a DSSSparameters element, a CF parameters set element, a traffic indicationmap (TIM) element, among others.

FIG. 15B shows an EHT Operation Element 1510 useable for wirelesscommunications according to some implementations. The EHT operationelement 1510 may include an Element ID field 1511, a length field 1512,an Element ID extension field 1513, and an EHT Operation Informationfield 1514. The Element ID field 1511 carries information indicating thetype and format of the information element 1510. The length field 1512carries information indicating the length or size of the informationelement 1510. The Element ID extension field 1513 carries additionalinformation indicating the type and format of the information element1510. The EHT Operation Information field 1514 may be used carry abitmap indicating which of a plurality of puncturing patterns is to beused for channel puncturing.

FIG. 15C shows an example bitmap 1520 useable for wirelesscommunications with channel puncturing. The bitmap 1520 is shown toinclude sixteen bits B0-B15, and may be used to indicate a channelpuncturing pattern to transmit or receive use for transmitting orreceiving data over a wireless channel. In some implementations, each ofthe sixteen bits B0-B15 may indicate whether a corresponding subchannelof 16 subchannels of a wireless channel is to be punctured (or notpunctured).

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1600 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome implementations. In some implementations, the process 1600 may beperformed by a wireless communication device operating as or within anetwork node, such as one of the STAs 104 or 604 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6B, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 1600 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within an AP, such as one of theAPs 102 or 602 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6A,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 1600 begins at block 1602 with theSTA receiving an indication of a first puncturing pattern to be used fortransmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, the firstpuncturing pattern being defined by a first wireless communicationprotocol release. The process 1600 proceeds at block 1604 with selectinga second puncturing pattern from a set of puncturing patterns defined bya second wireless communication protocol release, the second puncturingpattern including one or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsetsof one or more corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern. The process 1600 proceeds at block 1606 withtransmitting or receiving one or more packets over the wireless channelbased on the second puncturing pattern. In some implementations, the STAmay be configured to operate according to the second wirelesscommunication protocol release. In some instances, the STA may not beconfigured to operate according to the first wireless communicationprotocol release or may not be able to decode puncturing patternsdefined by the first wireless communication protocol release. In someinstances, the first wireless communication protocol release may be asecond release of the IEEE 802.11be amendment, and the second wirelesscommunication protocol release may be a first release of the IEEE802.11be amendment.

The second puncturing pattern may include a non-punctured 20 MHzsubchannel corresponding to a primary channel of an AP. In someinstances, the second puncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidthof 320 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHzbandwidth, an 80 MHz bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz bandwidth. In otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidthof 160 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHzbandwidth or a 20 MHz bandwidth. In some other instances, the secondpuncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and zero ormore punctured subchannels having a 20 MHz bandwidth. In some otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidthof 40 MHz without channel puncturing. In some other instances, thesecond puncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHzwithout channel puncturing.

In various implementations, the indication may be a bitmap including aplurality of bits, with each bit of the bitmap indicating whether acorresponding subchannel of a wireless channel is to be punctured fortransmitting or receiving data based on the second puncturing pattern.In some instances, the bitmap may be received in an EHT operationelement of a beacon frame. In some other instances, the bitmap may bereceived in an EHT operation element of an action frame. In some otherinstances, the bitmap may be received in an EHT operation element ofassociation response frame or a probe response frame. In someimplementations, the second puncturing pattern may be selected based ona match between the received bitmap and one or more stored bitmapscorresponding to the set of puncturing patterns defined by the secondwireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1700 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome implementations. In some implementations, the process 1700 may beperformed by a wireless communication device operating as or within anetwork node, such as one of the STAs 104 or 604 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6B, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 1700 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within an AP, such as one of theAPs 102 or 602 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6A,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 1700 may be one example ofselecting the second puncturing pattern in block 1604 of FIG. 16 . Forexample, the process 1700 begins at block 1702 with identifying each ofthe puncturing patterns of the set of puncturing patterns defined by thesecond wireless communication protocol release that includesnon-punctured subchannels that are subsets of the one or morenon-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern. The process1700 proceeds at block 1704 with selecting the identified puncturingpattern that includes the most non-punctured subchannels as the secondpuncturing pattern. For example, if two or more puncturing patternsdefined by the second wireless communication protocol release areidentified as including non-punctured subchannels that are subsets ofthe one or more non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturingpattern, the STA may select the identified puncturing pattern having themost non-punctured subchannels over which the STA may transmit orreceive data. In this way, the STA may select the puncturing patterndefined by the second wireless communication protocol release thatprovides the widest transmission bandwidth, for example, maximizechannel diversity and data throughput over the wireless channel.

FIG. 18 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1800 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome implementations. In some implementations, the process 1800 may beperformed by a wireless communication device operating as or within anetwork node, such as one of the STAs 104 or 604 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6B, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 1800 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within an AP, such as one of theAPs 102 or 602 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6A,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 1800 may be performed inconjunction with selecting the identified puncturing pattern in block1704 of FIG. 17 . For example, the process 1800 begins at block 1802with determining, in response to two or more of the identifiedpuncturing patterns including the most non-punctured subchannels, whichof the identified puncturing patterns includes a non-puncturedsubchannel associated with relatively high frequencies of the wirelesschannel or with relatively low frequencies of the wireless channel. Theprocess 1800 proceeds at block 1804 with selecting the second puncturingpattern based on the determination. In this way, if two or more of thepuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release include non-punctured subchannels that are subsets ofthe non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern and thatalso include the same number of non-punctured subchannels, the STA mayselect one of the two or more puncturing patterns based on the relativefrequencies of their respective non-punctured subchannels. For example,if the STA determines that channel interference on an upper 40 MHzfrequency portion of a 320 MHz wireless channel is less than the channelinterference on a lower 40 MHz frequency portion of the 320 MHz wirelesschannel, the STA may select the puncturing pattern that includesnon-punctured subchannels in the upper 40 MHz frequency portion of the320 MHz wireless channel, for example, to minimize packet loss due tochannel interference.

FIG. 19 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 1900 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome implementations. In some implementations, the process 1900 may beperformed by a wireless communication device operating as or within anetwork node, such as one of the STAs 104 or 604 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6B, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 1900 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within an AP, such as one of theAPs 102 or 602 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6A,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 1900 may be performed inconjunction with selecting the identified puncturing pattern in block1704 of FIG. 17 . For example, the process 1900 begins at block 1902with determining, in response to two or more of the identifiedpuncturing patterns including the most non-punctured subchannels, whichof the identified puncturing patterns is associated with a bitmap havingthe highest binary index or a bitmap having the lowest binary index. Theprocess 1900 proceeds at block 1904 with selecting the second puncturingpattern based on the determination. In this way, if two or more of thepuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release include non-punctured subchannels that are subsets ofthe non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern and thatalso include the same number of non-punctured subchannels, the STA mayselect one of the identified puncturing patterns to transmit or receivedata based on their relative bitmap indices. The AP (and other STAsassociated with the AP) may also follow this process to determine whichof the identified puncturing patterns defined by the second wirelesscommunication protocol release is to be used for channel puncturing. Inthis way, an AP and the STAs associated with the AP may select the samepuncturing pattern defined by the second wireless communication protocolrelease without an explicit indication.

FIG. 20 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 2000 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations. In some implementations, the process 2000may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin an AP, such as one of the APs 102 or 602 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6A, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 2000 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within a network node, such as oneof the STAs 104 or 604 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6B,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 2000 begins at block 2002 withselecting a first puncturing pattern to be used for transmitting orreceiving data over a wireless channel, the first puncturing patterndefined by a first wireless communication protocol release. The process2000 proceeds at block 2004 with determining a presence of one or moreSTAs configured to operate according to a second wireless communicationprotocol release. The process 2000 proceeds at block 2006 with inresponse to determining the presence of the one or more STAs configuredto operate according to the second wireless communication protocolrelease, selecting a second puncturing pattern from a set of puncturingpatterns defined by the second wireless communication protocol release,the second puncturing pattern including one or more non-puncturedsubchannels that are subsets of one or more corresponding non-puncturedsubchannels of the first puncturing pattern. The process 2000 proceedsat block 2008 with transmitting or receiving one or more packets overthe wireless channel based on the second puncturing pattern to or fromat least the STAs configured to operate according to the second wirelesscommunication protocol release. In some implementations, the firstwireless communication protocol release may be a second release of theIEEE 802.11be amendment, and the second wireless communication protocolrelease may be a first release of the IEEE 802.11be amendment. In someinstances, the STA may not be configured to operate according to thefirst wireless communication protocol release or may not be able todecode puncturing patterns defined by the first wireless communicationprotocol release.

The second puncturing pattern may include a non-punctured 20 MHzsubchannel corresponding to a primary channel of the AP. In someinstances, the second puncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidthof 320 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHzbandwidth, an 80 MHz bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz bandwidth. In otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidthof 160 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHzbandwidth or a 20 MHz bandwidth. In some other instances, the secondpuncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and zero ormore punctured subchannels having a 20 MHz bandwidth. In some otherinstances, the second puncturing pattern includes a frequency bandwidthof 40 MHz without channel puncturing. In some other instances, thesecond puncturing pattern includes frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz withoutchannel puncturing.

In various implementations, the indication may be a bitmap including aplurality of bits, with each bit of the bitmap indicating whether acorresponding subchannel of a frequency bandwidth is punctured by thesecond puncturing pattern. In some instances, the bitmap may betransmitted in an EHT operation element of a beacon frame. In some otherinstances, the bitmap may be transmitted in an EHT operation element ofan action frame. In some other instances, the bitmap may be transmittedin an EHT operation element of association response frame or a proberesponse frame. In some implementations, the second puncturing patternmay be selected based on a match between the received bitmap and one ormore stored bitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturing patternsdefined by the second wireless communication protocol release.

FIG. 21 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 2100 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations. In some implementations, the process 2100may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin an AP, such as one of the APs 102 or 602 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6A, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 2100 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within a network node, such as oneof the STAs 104 or 604 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6B,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 2100 may be performed after theprocess 2000 of FIG. 20 . For example, the process 2100 begins at block2102 with transmitting an indication of the second puncturing pattern toat least the STAs configured to operate according to the second wirelesscommunication protocol release. In some instances, the indication may bea bit carried in an EHT operation element of a beacon frame or actionframe.

FIG. 22 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 2200 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations. In some implementations, the process 2200may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin an AP, such as one of the APs 102 or 602 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6A, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 2200 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within a network node, such as oneof the STAs 104 or 604 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6B,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 2200 may be one example ofselecting the second puncturing pattern in block 2006 of FIG. 20 . Forexample, the process 2200 begins at block 2202 with identifying each ofthe puncturing patterns of the set of puncturing patterns defined by thesecond wireless communication protocol release that includesnon-punctured subchannels that are subsets of the one or morenon-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern. The process2200 proceeds at block 2204 with selecting the identified puncturingpattern that includes the most non-punctured subchannels as the secondpuncturing pattern. For example, if two or more puncturing patternsdefined by the second wireless communication protocol release areidentified as including non-punctured subchannels that are subsets ofthe one or more non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturingpattern, the AP may select the identified puncturing pattern having themost non-punctured subchannels over which the AP may transmit or receivedata. In this way, the AP may select the puncturing pattern defined bythe second wireless communication protocol release that provides thewidest transmission bandwidth, for example, maximize channel diversityand data throughput over the wireless channel.

FIG. 23 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 2300 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations. In some implementations, the process 2300may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin an AP, such as one of the APs 102 or 602 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6A, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 2300 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within a network node, such as oneof the STAs 104 or 604 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6B,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 2300 may be performed inconjunction with selecting the identified puncturing pattern in block2204 of FIG. 22 . For example, the process 2300 begins at block 2302with determining, in response to two or more of the identifiedpuncturing patterns including the most non-punctured subchannels, whichof the identified puncturing patterns includes a non-puncturedsubchannel associated with relatively high frequencies of the wirelesschannel or with relatively low frequencies of the wireless channel. Theprocess 2300 proceeds at block 2304 with selecting the second puncturingpattern based on the determination. In this way, if two or more of thepuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release include non-punctured subchannels that are subsets ofthe non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern and alsoinclude the same number of non-punctured subchannels, the STA may selectone of the two or more puncturing patterns based on the relativefrequencies of their respective non-punctured subchannels. For example,if the STA determines that channel interference on an upper 40 MHzfrequency portion of a 320 MHz wireless channel is less than the channelinterference on a lower 40 MHz frequency portion of the 320 MHz wirelesschannel, the STA may select the puncturing pattern that includesnon-punctured subchannels in the upper 40 MHz frequency portion of the320 MHz wireless channel, for example, to minimize packet loss due tochannel interference.

FIG. 24 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process 2400 forwireless communication that supports channel puncturing according tosome other implementations. In some implementations, the process 2400may be performed by a wireless communication device operating as orwithin an AP, such as one of the APs 102 or 602 described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6A, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the process 2400 may be performed by a wirelesscommunication device operating as or within a network node, such as oneof the STAs 104 or 604 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6B,respectively.

In some implementations, the process 2400 may be performed inconjunction with selecting the identified puncturing pattern in block2204 of FIG. 22 . For example, the process 2400 begins at block 2402with determining, in response to two or more of the identifiedpuncturing patterns including the most non-punctured subchannels, whichof the identified puncturing patterns is associated with a bitmap havingthe highest binary index or a bitmap having the lowest binary index. Theprocess 2400 proceeds at block 2404 with selecting the second puncturingpattern based on the determination. In this way, if two or more of thepuncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol release include non-punctured subchannels that are subsets ofthe non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern and alsoinclude the same number of non-punctured subchannels, the STA may selectone of the identified puncturing patterns to transmit or receive databased on their relative bitmap indices. The AP (and other STAsassociated with the AP) may also follow this process to determine whichof the identified puncturing patterns defined by the second wirelesscommunication protocol release is to be used for channel puncturing. Inthis way, an AP and the STAs associated with the AP may select the samepuncturing pattern defined by the second wireless communication protocolrelease without an explicit indication.

FIG. 25 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice 2500 according to some implementations. In some implementations,the wireless communication device 2500 is configured to perform thecommunications 1400 of FIG. 14A, the communications 1410 of FIG. 14B, orboth. The wireless communication device 2500 can be an exampleimplementation of the wireless communication device 500 described abovewith reference to FIG. 5 . For example, the wireless communicationdevice 2500 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device that includesat least one processor and at least one modem (for example, a Wi-Fi(IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem). In some implementations, thewireless communication device 2500 can be a device for use in a STA,such as one of the STAs 104 and 604 described with reference to FIGS. 1and 6B, respectively. In some other implementations, the wirelesscommunication device 2500 can be a STA that includes such a chip, SoC,chipset, package or device as well as at least one antenna (such as theantennas 625).

The wireless communication device 2500 includes a reception component2510, a communication manager 2520, and a transmission component 2530.The communication manager 2520 further includes a puncturing patterndecoding component 2522 and a puncturing pattern selection component2524. Portions of one or more of the components 2522 and 2524 may beimplemented at least in part in hardware or firmware. In someimplementations, at least some of the components 2522 and 2524 areimplemented at least in part as software stored in a memory (such as thememory 508). For example, portions of one or more of the components 2522and 2524 can be implemented as non-transitory instructions (or “code”)executable by a processor (such as the processor 506) to perform thefunctions or operations of the respective component.

The reception component 2510 is configured to receive RX signals, over awireless channel, from one or more other wireless communication devices.The communication manager 2520 is configured to control or managecommunications with the one or more other wireless communicationdevices. In some implementations, the puncturing pattern decodingcomponent 2522 may receive an indication of a first puncturing patternto be used for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel.In some instances, the puncturing pattern decoding component 2522 maydetermine that the first puncturing pattern is defined by a firstwireless communication protocol release. The puncturing patternselection component 2524 may select a second puncturing pattern from aset of puncturing patterns defined by a second wireless communicationprotocol release. In some instances, the second puncturing pattern mayinclude one or more non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one ormore corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturingpattern. The transmission component 2530 is configured to transmit TXsignals, over the wireless channel, to one or more other wirelesscommunication devices. In some implementations, the transmissioncomponent 2530 may transmit one or more packets over the wirelesschannel based on the second puncturing pattern.

FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of an example wireless communicationdevice 2600 according to some other implementations. In someimplementations, the wireless communication device 2600 is configured toperform the communications 1400 of FIG. 14A, the communications 1410 ofFIG. 14B, or both. The wireless communication device 2600 can be anexample implementation of the wireless communication device 500described above with reference to FIG. 5 . For example, the wirelesscommunication device 2600 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package or devicethat includes at least one processor and at least one modem (forexample, a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem). In someimplementations, the wireless communication device 2600 can be a devicefor use in an AP, such as one of the APs 102 and 602 described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6A, respectively. In some otherimplementations, the wireless communication device 2600 can be an APthat includes such a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device as well as atleast one antenna (such as the antennas 620).

The wireless communication device 2600 includes a reception component2610, a communication manager 2620, and a transmission component 2630.The communication manager 2620 further includes a puncturing patternselection component 2622 and a detection component 2624. Portions of oneor more of the components 2622 and 2624 may be implemented at least inpart in hardware or firmware. In some implementations, at least some ofthe components 2622 and 2624 are implemented at least in part assoftware stored in a memory (such as the memory 508). For example,portions of one or more of the components 2622 and 2624 can beimplemented as non-transitory instructions (or “code”) executable by aprocessor (such as the processor 506) to perform the functions oroperations of the respective component.

The reception component 2610 is configured to receive RX signals, over awireless channel, from one or more other wireless communication devices.The communication manager 2620 is configured to control or managecommunications with the one or more other wireless communicationdevices. In some implementations, the puncturing pattern selectioncomponent 2622 may select a first puncturing pattern to be used fortransmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, the firstpuncturing pattern defined by a first wireless communication protocolrelease. The detection component 2624 is configured to determine apresence of one or more STAs configured to operate according to a secondwireless communication protocol release. In some instances, the one ormore STAs may not be configured to operate according to the firstwireless communication protocol release. The puncturing patternselection component 2622 is configured to select, in response todetermining the presence of the one or more STAs configured to operateaccording to the second wireless communication protocol release, asecond puncturing pattern from a set of puncturing patterns defined bythe second wireless communication protocol release. In some instances,the second puncturing pattern includes one or more non-puncturedsubchannels that are subsets of one or more corresponding non-puncturedsubchannels of the first puncturing pattern. The transmission component2630 is configured to transmit TX signals, over the wireless channel, toone or more other wireless communication devices. In someimplementations, the transmission component 2630 may transmit one ormore packets over the wireless channel to the one or more STAs based onthe second puncturing pattern.

Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

-   -   1. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless        station (STA), including:    -   receiving an indication of a first puncturing pattern to be used        for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, the        first puncturing pattern being defined by a first wireless        communication protocol release;    -   selecting a second puncturing pattern from a set of puncturing        patterns defined by a second wireless communication protocol        release, the second puncturing pattern including one or more        non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one or more        corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing        pattern; and    -   transmitting or receiving one or more packets over the wireless        channel based on the second puncturing pattern.    -   2. The method of clause 1, where the STA is configured to        operate according to the second wireless communication protocol        release and not configured to operate according to the first        wireless communication protocol release.    -   3. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-2, where the        second puncturing pattern includes:    -   a frequency bandwidth of 320 MHz and zero or more punctured        subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth, an 80 MHz        frequency bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz frequency bandwidth;    -   a frequency bandwidth of 160 MHz and zero or more punctured        subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth or a 20 MHz        frequency bandwidth;    -   a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and zero or more punctured        subchannels having a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth;    -   a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz without puncturing; or    -   a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz without puncturing.    -   4. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-3, where the        second puncturing pattern includes a non-punctured 20 MHz        subchannel corresponding to a primary channel of an access point        (AP).    -   5. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-4, where the        indication includes a bitmap including a plurality of bits, each        bit of the bitmap indicating whether a corresponding subchannel        of the wireless channel is punctured by the first puncturing        pattern.    -   6. The method of clause 5, where the bitmap is received in an        extremely high-throughput (EHT) operation element of a beacon        frame, an association response frame, a probe response frame, or        an action frame.    -   7. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-6, where selecting        the second puncturing pattern includes:    -   identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set of        puncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communication        protocol release that includes non-punctured subchannels that        are subsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the        first puncturing pattern; and    -   selecting the identified puncturing pattern that includes the        most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturing pattern.    -   8. The method of clause 7, further including:    -   in response to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns        including the most non-punctured subchannels, determining which        of the two or more identified puncturing patterns includes a        non-punctured subchannel associated with relatively high        frequencies of the wireless channel or with relatively low        frequencies of the wireless channel; and    -   selecting the second puncturing pattern based on the        determination.    -   9. The method of clause 7, further including:    -   in response to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns        including the most non-punctured subchannels, determining which        of the two or more identified puncturing patterns is associated        with a bitmap having the highest binary index or a bitmap having        the lowest binary index; and    -   selecting the second puncturing pattern based on the        determination.    -   10. The method of any one or more of clauses 1-9, where        selecting the second puncturing pattern is based on a match        between the received bitmap and one or more stored bitmaps        corresponding to the set of puncturing patterns defined by the        second wireless communication protocol release.    -   11. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless        access point (AP), including:    -   selecting a first puncturing pattern to be used for transmitting        or receiving data over a wireless channel, the first puncturing        pattern defined by a first wireless communication protocol        release;    -   determining a presence of one or more wireless stations (STAs)        configured to operate according to a second wireless        communication protocol release;    -   in response to determining the presence of the one or more STAs        configured to operate according to the second wireless        communication protocol release, selecting a second puncturing        pattern from a set of puncturing patterns defined by the second        wireless communication protocol release, the second puncturing        pattern including one or more non-punctured subchannels that are        subsets of one or more corresponding non-punctured subchannels        of the first puncturing pattern; and    -   transmitting or receiving one or more packets over the wireless        channel based on the second puncturing pattern to or from at        least the STAs configured to operate according to the second        wireless communication protocol release.    -   12. The method of clause 11, further including:    -   transmitting an indication of the second puncturing pattern to        at least the STAs configured to operate according to the second        wireless communication protocol release.    -   13. The method of any one or more of clauses 11-12, where the        indication includes a bit carried in an extremely        high-throughput (EHT) operation element of a beacon frame, an        association response frame, a probe response frame, or an action        frame.    -   14. The method of any one or more of clauses 11-13, where the        second puncturing pattern includes:    -   a frequency bandwidth of 320 MHz and zero or more punctured        subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth, having an 80        MHz frequency bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz frequency bandwidth;    -   a frequency bandwidth of 160 MHz and zero or more punctured        subchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth or a 20 MHz        frequency bandwidth;    -   a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and zero or more punctured        subchannels having a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth;    -   a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz without puncturing; or    -   a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz without puncturing.    -   15. The method of any one or more of clauses 11-14, where the        second puncturing pattern includes a non-punctured 20 MHz        subchannel corresponding to a primary channel of the AP.    -   16. The method of any one or more of clauses 11-15, where        selecting the second puncturing pattern includes:    -   identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set of        puncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communication        protocol release that includes non-punctured subchannels that        are subsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the        first puncturing pattern; and    -   selecting the identified puncturing pattern that includes the        most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturing pattern.    -   17. The method of clause 16, further including:    -   in response to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns        including the most non-punctured subchannels, determining which        of the two or more identified puncturing patterns includes a        non-punctured subchannel associated with relatively high        frequencies of the wireless channel or with relatively low        frequencies of the wireless channel; and    -   selecting the second puncturing pattern based on the        determination.    -   18. The method of clause 16, further including:    -   in response to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns        including the most non-punctured subchannels, determining which        of the two or more identified puncturing patterns is associated        with a bitmap having the highest binary index or a bitmap having        the lowest binary index; and    -   selecting the second puncturing pattern based on the        determination.    -   19. A wireless communication device including:    -   at least one modem;    -   at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least        one modem; and    -   at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least        one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when        executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the        at least one modem, is configured to:        -   receive an indication of a first puncturing pattern to be            used for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless            channel, the first puncturing pattern being defined by a            first wireless communication protocol release;        -   select a second puncturing pattern from a set of puncturing            patterns defined by a second wireless communication protocol            release, the second puncturing pattern including one or more            non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one or more            corresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first            puncturing pattern; and        -   transmit or receive one or more packets over the wireless            channel based on the second puncturing pattern.    -   20. The wireless communication device of clause 19, where the        indication includes a bitmap including a plurality of bits, each        bit of the bitmap indicating whether a corresponding subchannel        of the wireless channel is punctured by the first puncturing        pattern.    -   21. The wireless communication device of any one or more of        clauses 19-20, where the bitmap is transmitted in an extremely        high-throughput (EHT) operation element of a beacon frame, an        association response frame, a probe response frame, or an action        frame.    -   22. The wireless communication device of any one or more of        clauses 19-21, where execution of the processor-readable code is        configured to select the second puncturing pattern by:    -   identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set of        puncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communication        protocol release that includes non-punctured subchannels that        are subsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the        first puncturing pattern; and    -   selecting the identified puncturing pattern that includes the        most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturing pattern.    -   23. The wireless communication device of clause 22, where        execution of the processor-readable code is further configured        to:    -   in response to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns        including the most non-punctured subchannels, determining which        of the two or more identified puncturing patterns includes a        non-punctured subchannel associated with relatively high        frequencies of the wireless channel or with relatively low        frequencies of the wireless channel; and    -   selecting the second puncturing pattern based on the        determination.    -   24. The wireless communication device of clause 22, where        execution of the processor-readable code is further configured        to:    -   in response to two or more of the identified puncturing patterns        including the most non-punctured subchannels, determining which        of the two or more identified puncturing patterns is associated        with a bitmap having the highest binary index or a bitmap having        the lowest binary index; and    -   selecting the second puncturing pattern based on the        determination.    -   25. The wireless communication device of any one or more of        clauses 19-24, where the selection of the second puncturing        pattern is based on a match between the received bitmap and one        or more stored bitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturing        patterns defined by the second wireless communication protocol        release.    -   26. A wireless communication device including:    -   at least one modem;    -   at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least        one modem; and    -   at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least        one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when        executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the        at least one modem, is configured to:        -   select a first puncturing pattern to be used for            transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, the            first puncturing pattern defined by a first wireless            communication protocol release;        -   determine a presence of one or more wireless stations (STAs)            configured to operate according to a second wireless            communication protocol release;        -   in response to determining the presence of the one or more            STAs configured to operate according to the second wireless            communication protocol release, select a second puncturing            pattern from a set of puncturing patterns defined by the            second wireless communication protocol release, the second            puncturing pattern including one or more non-punctured            subchannels that are subsets of one or more corresponding            non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern;            and        -   transmit or receive one or more packets over the wireless            channel based on the second puncturing pattern to or from at            least the STAs configured to operate according to the second            wireless communication protocol release.    -   27. The wireless communication device of clause 26, where        execution of the processor-readable code is further configured        to:    -   transmit an indication of the second puncturing pattern to at        least the STAs configured to operate according to the second        wireless communication protocol release.    -   28. The wireless communication device of any one or more of        clauses 26-27, where the second puncturing pattern includes a        non-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to a primary        channel of the AP.    -   29. The wireless communication device of any one or more of        clauses 26-28, where execution of the processor-readable code is        configured to select the second puncturing pattern by:    -   identifying each of the puncturing patterns of the set of        puncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communication        protocol release which includes non-punctured subchannels that        are subsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the        first puncturing pattern; and    -   selecting the identified puncturing pattern that includes the        most non-punctured subchannels as the second puncturing pattern.    -   30. The wireless communication device of any one or more of        clauses 26-29, where the selection of the second puncturing        pattern is based on a match between the received bitmap and one        or more stored bitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturing        patterns defined by the second wireless communication protocol        release.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” or “one or moreof” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, includingsingle members. For example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intendedto cover the possibilities of: a only, b only, c only, a combination ofa and b, a combination of a and c, a combination of b and c, and acombination of a and b and c.

The various illustrative components, logic, logical blocks, modules,circuits, operations and algorithm processes described in connectionwith the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, firmware, software, or combinations of hardware,firmware or software, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and the structural equivalents thereof. Theinterchangeability of hardware, firmware and software has been describedgenerally, in terms of functionality, and illustrated in the variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits and processesdescribed above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware,firmware or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system.

Various modifications to the implementations described in thisdisclosure may be readily apparent to persons having ordinary skill inthe art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of thisdisclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown herein, but are to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with this disclosure, the principles and the novel featuresdisclosed herein.

Additionally, various features that are described in this specificationin the context of separate implementations also can be implemented incombination in a single implementation. Conversely, various featuresthat are described in the context of a single implementation also can beimplemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitablesubcombination. As such, although features may be described above asacting in particular combinations, and even initially claimed as such,one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases beexcised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. Further, the drawings may schematically depict one more exampleprocesses in the form of a flowchart or flow diagram. However, otheroperations that are not depicted can be incorporated in the exampleprocesses that are schematically illustrated. For example, one or moreadditional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, orbetween any of the illustrated operations. In some circumstances,multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, theseparation of various system components in the implementations describedabove should not be understood as requiring such separation in allimplementations, and it should be understood that the described programcomponents and systems can generally be integrated together in a singlesoftware product or packaged into multiple software products.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication performed bya wireless station (STA), comprising: receiving an indication of a firstpuncturing pattern to be used for transmitting or receiving data over awireless channel, the first puncturing pattern being defined by a firstwireless communication protocol; selecting a second puncturing patternfrom a set of puncturing patterns defined by a second wirelesscommunication protocol, the second puncturing pattern including one ormore non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of one or morecorresponding non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern;and transmitting or receiving one or more packets over the wirelesschannel based on the second puncturing pattern.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the STA is configured to operate according to the secondwireless communication protocol and not configured to operate accordingto the first wireless communication protocol.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the second puncturing pattern includes: a frequency bandwidth of320 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40 MHz frequencybandwidth, an 80 MHz frequency bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz frequencybandwidth; a frequency bandwidth of 160 MHz and zero or more puncturedsubchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth or a 20 MHz frequencybandwidth; a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and zero or more puncturedsubchannels having a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth; a frequency bandwidthof 40 MHz without puncturing; or a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz withoutpuncturing.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second puncturingpattern includes a non-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to aprimary channel of an access point (AP).
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the indication comprises a bitmap including a plurality of bits,each bit of the bitmap indicating whether a corresponding subchannel ofthe wireless channel is punctured by the first puncturing pattern. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein the bitmap is received in a beacon frame,an association response frame, a probe response frame, or an actionframe.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the second puncturingpattern includes: determining each of the puncturing patterns of the setof puncturing patterns defined by the second wireless communicationprotocol that includes non-punctured subchannels that are subsets of theone or more non-punctured subchannels of the first puncturing pattern,wherein the indication comprises a bit carried in a beacon frame; andselecting the identified puncturing pattern that includes the mostnon-punctured subchannels as the second puncturing pattern.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising: in response to two or more of theidentified puncturing patterns including the most non-puncturedsubchannels, determining which of the two or more identified puncturingpatterns includes a non-punctured subchannel associated with relativelyhigh frequencies of the wireless channel or with relatively lowfrequencies of the wireless channel; and selecting the second puncturingpattern based on the determination.
 9. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising: in response to two or more of the identified puncturingpatterns including the most non-punctured subchannels, determining whichof the two or more identified puncturing patterns is associated with abitmap having the highest binary index or a bitmap having the lowestbinary index; and selecting the second puncturing pattern based on thedetermination.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the secondpuncturing pattern is based on a match between the received bitmap andone or more stored bitmaps corresponding to the set of puncturingpatterns defined by the second wireless communication protocol.
 11. Amethod for wireless communication performed by a wireless access point(AP), comprising: selecting a first puncturing pattern to be used fortransmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, the firstpuncturing pattern defined by a first wireless communication protocol;selecting a second puncturing pattern from a set of puncturing patternsdefined by a second wireless communication protocol, the secondpuncturing pattern including one or more non-punctured subchannels thatare subsets of one or more corresponding non-punctured subchannels ofthe first puncturing pattern; and transmitting or receiving one or morepackets over the wireless channel based on the second puncturing patternto or from at least one or more wireless stations (STAs) configured tooperate according to the second wireless communication protocol.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: transmitting an indication ofthe second puncturing pattern to at least the STAs configured to operateaccording to the second wireless communication protocol.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein the indication is carried in an extremelyhigh-throughput (EHT) operation element of a beacon frame, anassociation response frame, a probe response frame, or an action frame.14. The method of claim 11, wherein the second puncturing patternincludes: a frequency bandwidth of 320 MHz and zero or more puncturedsubchannels having a 40 MHz frequency bandwidth, having an 80 MHzfrequency bandwidth, or an 80+40 MHz frequency bandwidth; a frequencybandwidth of 160 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 40MHz frequency bandwidth or a 20 MHz frequency bandwidth; a frequencybandwidth of 80 MHz and zero or more punctured subchannels having a 20MHz frequency bandwidth; a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz withoutpuncturing; or a frequency bandwidth of 20 MHz without puncturing. 15.The method of claim 11, wherein the second puncturing pattern includes anon-punctured 20 MHz subchannel corresponding to a primary channel ofthe AP.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting the secondpuncturing pattern includes: determining each of the puncturing patternsof the set of puncturing patterns defined by the second wirelesscommunication protocol that includes non-punctured subchannels that aresubsets of the one or more non-punctured subchannels of the firstpuncturing pattern, wherein the indication is a bit carried in anextremely high-throughput (EHT) operation element of a beacon frame; andselecting the identified puncturing pattern that includes the mostnon-punctured subchannels as the second puncturing pattern.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, further comprising: in response to two or more ofthe identified puncturing patterns including the most non-puncturedsubchannels, determining which of the two or more identified puncturingpatterns includes a non-punctured subchannel associated with relativelyhigh frequencies of the wireless channel or with relatively lowfrequencies of the wireless channel; and selecting the second puncturingpattern based on the determination.
 18. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a processor; and memory coupled with theprocessor and storing instructions executable by the processor to causethe apparatus to: receive an indication of a first puncturing pattern tobe used for transmitting or receiving data over a wireless channel, thefirst puncturing pattern being defined by a first wireless communicationprotocol; select a second puncturing pattern from a set of puncturingpatterns defined by a second wireless communication protocol, the secondpuncturing pattern including one or more non-punctured subchannels thatare subsets of one or more corresponding non-punctured subchannels ofthe first puncturing pattern; and transmit or receive one or morepackets over the wireless channel based on the second puncturingpattern.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the indication comprisesa bitmap including a plurality of bits, each bit of the bitmapindicating whether a corresponding subchannel of the wireless channel ispunctured by the first puncturing pattern.
 20. The apparatus of claim19, wherein the bitmap is transmitted in a beacon frame, an associationresponse frame, a probe response frame, or an action frame.